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5 

SECRET   EXPEDITION 


PERU, 


OR,  THE   PRACTICAL   INFLUENCE   OF  THE   SPAM  MI 

COLONIAL  SYSTEM  UPON  THE  CHARACTER 

AND  HABITS  OF  THE  COLONISTS, 


EXHIBITED    IX   A    PRIVATE    REPORT    READ    TO    THE 
SECRETARIES    OF    HIS    MAJESTY 

FERDINAND  VI.  KING  OF  SPAIN, 


BY 
vj  M 

GEORGE  J.  &  ANTHONY  ULLOA, 

MEMBERS     OF    THE    ROYAL     SOCIETY   OF   LONDON. 


FIRST   PUBLISHED    IS    SPANISH   BY  DAVID   BARRY, 


ABRIDGED. 
OF  THE     -**\ 

{    UNIVERSITY  ] 

OF  $ 

-#6  S  T  O  N  : 

CROCKER  AND    BREWSTER. 
1851. 


,oi 


'£fiAL 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by 
CROCKER  &   BREWSTER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of 
Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


THE  discovery  of  America  has  been  justly  regarded  as 
the  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  human 
race.  A  continent  more  widely  extended  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  known  world  —  nations  of  a  peculiar  charac 
ter,  and  differing  essentially  in  their  constitution  and 
mode  of  life  from  the  people  who  inhabited  the  eastern 
hemisphere  —  mountains  containing  the  precious  metals 
in  inexhaustible  plenty  —  rare  and  exquisite  productions, 
and  of  great  utility  for  the  comfort  and  luxury  of  man 
—  in  short,  a  whole  hemisphere  opens  itself  at  once  to 
the  energetic  European,  presenting  an  immense  field  in 
which  to  exercise  his  talents,  his  courage,  activity,  and 
perseverance.  But  a  short  time  elapses  before  the  limits 
of  the  seas  and  the  extent  of  the  coast  are  explored. 
The  vast  ocean  is  but  a  lake  to  the  mariner,  and  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe  form  a  general  market  for  mer 
chants  of  every  clime ;  interest  brings  nations  together, 
and  industry  introduces  an  exchange  of  productions  and 
manufactures,  and  commerce  transfers  the  superfluous 
riches  of  one  country  to  another,  from  east  to  west,  and 
from  the  habitable  portion  of  one  pole  to  that  of  the 
other. 

The  discovery  of  America  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Spanish 
nation  at  the  period  of  her  greatest  aggrandizement. 
The  Catholic  kings  —  powerful,  enterprising,  and  am- 


1  «221.8 


IV  PREFACE. 

bitious  —  listened  with  favor  to  the  representations  of 
the  navigator  Columbus,  and  furnished  him  the  means 
for  that  wonderful  expedition.  The  Spaniards  set  sail 
from  Andalusia,  and,  proceeding  from  Europe  west- 
wardly,  commenced  the  discovery  of  that  unknown 
world.  The  American  continent,  and  particularly  the 
space  between  the  tropics,  came  to  be  a  field  where  its 
conquerors  exhibited  deeds  of  astonishing  heroism, 
achievements  truly  grand,  and  a  firmness  and  fortitude 
so  extraordinary  that  they  would  have  merited  the  ap 
plause  of  posterity,  had  they  not  tarnished  the  lustre  of 
their  arms  by  false  religious  zeal,  by  unnecessary  cruelty, 
and  insatiable  avarice.  The  vast  empire  of  Mexico,  the 
widely-spread  domain  of  the  Incas,  the  warrior  kings  of 
ancient  Cundinamarca,  and  even  the  formidable  Arauca- 
nians  of  Chili,  submitted  to  the  irresistible  sway  of 
Cortes,  Pizarro,  Quesada,  Mendoza,  and  Valdivia,  these 
generals  forming  one  Spanish  colony  of  the  whole  west 
ern  hemisphere  of  the  globe. 

The  tract  of  country  described  in  the  present  work  is 
the  ancient  "  kingdom  of  Peru,"  or  more  properly  the 
Presidency  of  Quito,  which  extends  from  the  River  of 
Guayaquil  to  Barbacoas,  and  thence  eastwardly  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Amazon,  comprising  the  republics  of 
Peru  and  Ecuador,  and  a  portion  of  the  empire  of  Brazil. 

Most  of  our  readers  are  acquainted  with  the  celebrated 
scientific  expedition  undertaken  in  the  year  1735  by  the 
learned  George  and  Anthony  Ulloa,  in  company  with  the 
French  astronomers,  Messrs.  Godin,  Bouger,  and  Conda- 
mine,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  precise  length  of  a  ter 
restrial  degree  upon  the  equator,  in  order  that,  this  being 
compared  with  what  a  degree  would  be  found  to  have 
which  was  to  be  measured  simultaneously  by  Mauper- 
tuis,  Clairaut,  and  other  mathematicians,  sent  for  this 


PREFACE.  V 

purpose  to  the  north  of  Europe,  an  inference  might  be 
drawn  from  both  as  to  the  figure  of  the  earth,  and  as  to 
the  probable  truth  of  the  Copernican  system  —  a  ques 
tion  which  had  agitated  the  nations  of  Europe  for  more 
than  a  century. 

Having  closed  the  scientific  part  of  their  investigation, 
those  celebrated  Spaniards  devoted  themselves  to  a  care 
ful  inquiry  into  the  true  political  condition  of  those  coun 
tries,  as  it  respected  their  naval  and  maritime  force  ;  the 
state  of  their  fortresses  and  garrisons,  their  arsenals  and 
marine  ;  the  character  of  their  commanding  officers  and 
subalterns ;  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  tribunals, 
and  the  habits  and  manners  of  the  people,  in  conformity 
with  instructions  received  from  the  Spanish  government. 
They  travelled  from  town  to  town,  investigating  every 
particular  which  might  be  conducive  to  their  object, 
making  inquiries  of  the  most  disinterested,  intelligent, 
and  upright  persons,  in  regard  to  matters  of  which  they 
could  have  no  personal  knowledge,  and  using  every 
means  to  ascertain  the  truth,  by  a  careful  comparison  of 
facts  which  fell  under  their  own  observation  with  those 
which  they  had  learned  only  by  report. 

These  distinguished  travellers,  in  spite  of  all  that  had 
come  to  their  knowledge,  while  in  Europe,  of  the  deplor 
able  condition  of  the  civilized  Indians,  were  amazed  to 
witness  the  cruelties  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  corregi- 
dors,  parish  priests,  and  landholders,  in  every  portion  of 
the  country,  and  in  every  department  of  industry.  The 
origin  of  this  fearful  injustice  was  soon  brought  to  light. 
Countries  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  government,  — 
periods  in  which  whole  years  elapsed  without  any  offi 
cial  or  ordinary  communication  with  the  mother  country, 
—  avast  territory  governed  by  men  who  sought  their 
own  interest  exclusively,  without  acknowledging  either 


VI  PREFACE. 

magistrate  or  tribunal  as  authorized  to  restrain  their  ex 
cesses,  nor  any  force  in  public  opinion  to  keep  them  in 
check,  —  all  these  conspired  to  open  the  door  to  every 
species  of  corruption  and  oppression.  Contempt  of  law, 
the  rapacity  of  men  in  office,  the  avarice  of  miners,  the 
extortions  of  the  parish  priests,  and  the  corruption  pre 
vailing  among  all  classes,  had  vitiated  the  people  to  such 
a  degree  that  the  government  could  not  find  means  to 
effect  a  reform,  no  one  being  able  to  make  a  true  repre 
sentation  to  government  without  becoming  his  own  ac 
cuser. 

At  the  same  time,  we  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  the 
authors  of  this  work,  as  well  as  all  Spaniards  in  general, 
pretend  to  apologize  for  their  government,  by  maintaining 
that  the  laws  of  the  Indies  are  just  and  humane,  and 
that  the  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  aborigines  are  to  be 
attributed  to  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  viceroys  to  have 
them  put  in  execution.  But  what  avails  it  that  the  code 
be  just  and  humane,  if  the  laws  contained  in  it  are 
neither  observed  nor  put  in  force  ?  The  responsibility  of 
a  sovereign  or  a  congress  is  not  limited  to  mere  acts  of 
legislation  :  their  most  important  duty  consists  in  watch 
ing  over  the  tribunals,  that  their  decisions  may  be  made 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  justice.  Neither 
the  distance  of  those  countries,  nor  alleged  ignorance  on 
the  part  of  the  ministers,  can  excuse  the  King  of  Spain, 
when  it  is  known  that  the  royal  and  supreme  council  in 
Madrid  was  composed,  in  great  part,  of  magistrates  who 
had  served  in  America,  and  who  had  witnessed,  if  they 
had  not  themselves  practised,  all  the  acts  of  injustice 
which  are  recorded  in  this  work.  Let  the  calendar  of 
Madrid  be  examined,  for  any  one  of  the  years  past,  and 
it  will  be  found  that  the  majority  of  the  ministers  of  that 
council  were  formerly  viceroys,  presidents,  or  regents  of 


PREFACE.  Vll 

the  Audiences  of  Peru.  Nevertheless,  these  same  coun 
cillors  enacted  those  humane  laws,  which  they  them 
selves  knew  would  not  be  observed. 

It  appears  as  if  the  Kings  of  Spain  and  the  Council  of 
the  Indies  promulgated  equitable  laws  in  favor  of  the 
poor  Indians  for  no  other  object  than  to  have  them  ap 
pear  in  the  code,  inasmuch  as  they  gave  private  orders 
to  the  viceroys  to  put  measures  in  execution  which  are 
contrary  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  those  very  laws.  The 
meta,  for  example,  that  exterminating  conscription  of  the 
Indians,  was  in  opposition  to  the  spirit  of  the  laws  of  the 
Indies,  and  yet  it  was  introduced  almost  from  the  com 
mencement  of  the  conquest.  The  abuses  growing  out 
of  it  reached  such  a  degree  of  enormity,  that  some  of  the 
viceroys  were  obliged  to  abolish  it.  On  a  representation 
from  the  miners,  the  government  ordered  it  to  be  re 
newed  ;  but  several  viceroys  remonstrated  against  it,  until 
the  Duke  of  P&lata  was  appointed  governor  general, 
when  it  was  reestablished,  as  appears  by  an  official  docu 
ment  transmitted  by  this  officer  to  his  successor,  the 
Count  of  Monclova,  in  which  he  shows,  "  that  the  mi 
ners,  being  no  longer  able  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
wages  of  hired  Indians,  began  to  feel  the  necessity  of  the 
meta  system,  introduced  by  Senor  Francisco  Toledo,  and 
by  repeated  representations  from  that  body,  which  were 
becoming  more  urgent  every  day,  orders  have  been  given 
to  all  the  departments  to  apply  the  meta  system  in  its 
full  force  ;  and  when  his  majesty  was  pleased  to  nomi 
nate  me  to  this  office,  he  charged  me,  before  I  left 
Madrid,  to  make  this  my  first  care,  to  give  him  an  ac 
count  of  having  executed  my  orders  in  this  respect,  so 
that  I  could  not  but  enter  upon  the  business  with  a  de 
termination  to  prosecute  it  to  the  utmost,  and  to  show 
the  erroneous  view  of  my  predecessors,  who  had  aban 
doned  the  object,  as  being  impracticable." 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

The  grand  difficulty  which  the  viceroys  had  to  contend 
with  in  the  revival  of  the  meta  was  the  injustice  of 
forcing  thousands  of  Indians  out  of  their  villages,  to  en 
slave  them  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  miners.  In  a 
collection  of  papers  relative  to  the  government  of  the 
Indies,  which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  editor,  an  enu 
meration  is  made  of  the  prerogatives  conferred  upon  the 
miners  who  practised  the  meta,  by  which  it  appears  that 
the  privilege  did  not  expire  at  the  close  of  each  year,  as 
was  formerly  the  case,  but  that  it  was  granted  in  perpe 
tuity,  and  without  any  restriction.  The  miners,  says  the 
manuscript,  have  power  to  transfer  and  leave  the  Indians 
to  whomsoever  they  will ;  and,  when  they  have  no  chil 
dren,  they  leave  them  to  their  wives,  who,  not  being  able 
to  keep  them  employed,  hire  them  out ;  and,  under  the 
name  of  a  grant  or  bounty,  they  sell  them,  and  they 
often  fall  into  the  hands  of  men  who  are  unworthy  of 
holding  a  place  in  the  mining  corporations.  We  read  in 
another  part :  "  An  act  of  injustice  that  falls  heavily 
upon  the  head  of  the  poor  Indians  has  been  introduced 
and  tolerated  ;  for,  before  granting  them  one  whole  day's 
wages,  the  miners  look  at  the  quality  of  the  metal,  and 
if  it  has  not  what  is  called  the  standard  purity,  they  are 
credited  with  only  a  half  day's  labor  ;  and  it  frequently 
happens  that  they  cannot  complete  their  task  in  two  days, 
although  they  labor  incessantly."  Again  :  "  When  the 
proprietor  of  the  mines  cannot  continue  his  labors,  he 
distributes  the  Indians  allotted  to  him  to  other  proprie 
tors,  who  pay  their  hire  to  the  absent  miner,  at  the  rate 
of  fifty  dollars  a  year  for  each  Indian ;  and  when  the 
original  proprietor  resumes  the  working  of  the  mine,  the 
Indians  assigned  him  are  again  restored  to  him." 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  alluded  to  above,  the 
Duke  of  Palata  had  exrjress  orders  from  the  king  to 


PREFACE.  IX 

revive  the  system,  and  it  appears  as  if  he  had  no  scruple 
about  the  means  to  be  used.  He  reestablished  the 
meta  under  the  original  grant,  with  only  this  amend 
ment,  that  women  should  not  be  allowed  to  hire  out  or 
sell  the  Indians,  but  those  only  who  were  authorized  to 
do  so  ;  and  that  the  Indians  should  receive  full  wages, 
whatever  might  be  the  quality  of  the  mineral  extracted. 
Thus  did  this  viceroy  perpetuate  the  horrible  tyranny  of 
the  meta,  from  the  year  1681  till  the  last  revolution  in 
Peru.  The  humane  laws  of  the  Indies  pronounce  the 
Indians  to  be  free  men  :  the  government  grants  permis 
sion  to  the  viceroys  to  drag  them  to  the  mines,  to  labor 
for  the  benefit  of  individuals.  Those  functionaries  dare 
not  outrage  human  nature,  and  excuse  themselves  by 
pleading  the  obstacles  to  be  encountere^d,  but  the  govern 
ment  sends  a  viceroy  from  Spain  who  has  firmness 
enough  to  renew  the  system,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  apologists  of  the  Council 
of  the  Indies,  and  of  the  Spanish  government,  will  be 
able  to  avoid  this  dilemma :  either  the  meta  was  estab 
lished  by  those  laws,  or  the  government  establishes  it 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  law.  If  it  be  the  first,  the 
law  is  inhuman,  and  exceedingly  unjust,  since  it  deprives 
the  Indian  of  his  freedom,  and  compels  him  to  labor  for 
the  benefit  of  the  miners.  If  it  be  the  last,  the  govern 
ment  not  only  knows  the  abuses  committed,  but  gives 
peremptory  orders  to  the  viceroys  to  renew  and  perpet 
uate  the  greatest  of  all  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  abo 
rigines  of  Peru. 

This  very  work  itself  furnishes  another  evidence  that 
the  Spanish  government  never  intended  to  put  in  force 
the  equitable  laws  of  the  code  of  the  Indies  ;  for  this  re 
port  having  been  intended  expressly  for  the  information 
of  the  king  and  his  ministers,  it  has  been  suffered  to  lie 


X  PREFACE. 

buried  in  oblivion  during  the  last  four  reigns.  The  au 
thors  expose,  without  the  least  disguise,  the  fearful  abuses 
introduced  into  those  governments,  and  the  excessive 
and  general  oppression  of  the  wretched  Indians,  at  the 
same  time  suggesting  such  remedies  as  would  tend  to 
check  the  former  and  relieve  the  latter,  in  order  that  the 
ministry  being  fully  enlightened  as  to  the  existence  of 
these  evils,  such  measures  might  be  adopted  as  prudence 
would  dictate,  to  effect  a  reform.  But  the  Spanish  gov 
ernment,  aware  that  these  abuses  were  very  aggravated, 
and  that  to  make  them  public  would  be  injurious  to  the 
state,  and  derogatory  to  the  national  character,  deter 
mined  to  have  the  report  lodged  in  the  archives,  not 
being  willing,  if  they  were  able,  to  reform  those  disor 
ders,  or  extirpate  those  vices  which  have  produced  the 
revolution,  and  which  threaten  the  almost  total  ruin  of 
Spain. 

The  editor  of  this  work,  having  passed  several  years 
of  his  early  life  in  the  peninsula,  and  having  afterwards 
made  a  tour  along  the  literal  provinces  of  Caraccas, 
from  the  Orinoco  to  Maracaibo,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  those  countries,  was  desirous  of 
visiting  other  portions  of  that  vast  continent,  subsequent 
to  the  revolution  which  gave  birth  to  those  new  states. 
In  fact,  during  the  years  1820,  1821,  and  1822,  he  trav 
elled  through  the  provinces  of  Plata,  Peru,  and  Chili,  in 
order  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  political  condition  of 
those  new  republics,  the  climate  of  those  latitudes,  the 
quality  of  the  soil,  and  the  advantages  afforded  for  agri 
cultural  establishments.  On  his  return  to  England,  he 
proceeded  to  Spain  in  1823,  and  during  his  residence  in 
Madrid  he  learned  the  existence  of  the  Secret  Report  pre 
sented  to  the  government  by  John  and  Anthony  Ulloa ; 
and  having  obtained  the  manuscript  with  no  small 


PREFACE.  XI 

difficulty,  he  found  the  prevailing  abuses  in  that  country 
described  with  equal  skill  and  fidelity.  In  order  to  sat 
isfy  himself  of  the  truth  of  all  that  is  recorded  in  this 
report,  he  conversed  with  several  distinguished  Spaniards 
who  had  long  resided  in  South  America,  and  who  had 
held  the  highest  offices  in  the  government,  and  they  were 
unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the  disorders  introduced 
into  those  governments,  the  avarice  of  the  public  func 
tionaries,  the  scandalous  extortions  of  the  parish  priests, 
the  licentious  lives  of  the  clergy,  the  cruel  oppression  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  general  corruption  of  manners,  have 
existed  unto  the  present  day,  precisely  as  they  existed  in 
the  time  of  those  celebrated  writers. 

In  view,  then,  of  the  utility  of  this  report,  hitherto 
secret,  to  those  politicians  who  study  the  causes  of  the 
general  revolution  of  the  Spanish  colonies,  and  the  diffi 
culties  which  those  new  states  have  hitherto  had  to  en 
counter,  in  order  to  consolidate  their  governments,  the 
editor  has  determined  to  publish  this  manuscript  without 
the  slightest  alteration,  and  with  the  addition  merely  of 
a  few  notes  in  regard  to  points  which  have  been  observed 
by  himself,  either  to  contirm  the  truth  of  the  statements, 
or  to  illustrate  some  particulars  for  the  benefit  of  tho>e 
who  are  not  fully  acquainted  with  the  subject  ill  uumful 
by  the  authors. 

An  accurate  knowledge  of  the  government  of  the 
Spaniards  in  America  for  three  centuries,  the  method  of 
executing  the  laws  in  those  countries,  and  an  impartial 
examination  of  the  character  of  the  inhabitants,  whether 
Spaniards,  Creoles,  mestizoes,  or  Indians,  by  bringing  to 
light  the  causes  of  the  revolution,  will  discover  the  state 
of  apathy  which  has  delayed  it  so  long,  and,  while  it  jus 
tifies  the  absolute  independence  of  those  countries  of 
the  Spanish  sceptre,  will  suggest  to  those  new  states  the 


Xll  PREFACE. 

necessity  as  well  as  the  means  of  correcting  the  abuses 
of  former  legislation. 

The  desire  that  these  objects  should  be  secured  for  the 
benefit  of  those  countries,  -which  have  been  hitherto  al 
most  unknown,  but  which  are  now  elevated  to  the  rank 
of  free  and  independent  nations,  has  been  the  only  mo 
tive  which  has  induced  the  editor  to  lay  this  report  before 
the  public. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  Peruvian  Indians  had 
made  some  progress  in  civilization  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards  in  their  country.  They  are  a  mild  and  docile 
race,  and  hence  they  submitted  with  little  resistance  to 
the  yoke  of  their  new  masters,  having  become  already 
trained  to  habits  of  industry  under  the  beneficent  sway 
of  the  Incas.  Notwithstanding  the  appellation  by  which 
they  are  still  known  to  us,  and  with  which  we  associate 
the  indolence  of  a  wandering  life,  they  are  the  only  labor 
ing  class  to  be  found  in  Upper  Peru,  being  devoted  ex 
clusively  to  the  three  great  departments  of  industry  — 
agriculture,  mining,  and  manufactures.  Their  condition 
at  present,  however,  is  no  less  degraded  than  it  was  at 
the  time  the  following  report  was  written.  Travellers  in 
that  country  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the  truth  of  this 
assertion,  as  they  advance  in  their  progress  towards  the 
mountainous  districts.  It  exhibits  itself  in  the  language 
addressed  to  these  people,  in  the  service  which  they  have 
to  perform,  and  in  the  homage  they  render  to  their  mas 
ters.  On  my  arrival  at  Riobamba,  in  1835,  I  heard 
the  Indians  designated  by  the  phrase  "smaller  beasts 
of  burden,"  in  order  to  distinguish  them  from  mules 
and  pack  horses,  which  are  used  for  the  transportation  of 
heavy  articles.  We  had  scarcely  reached  the  plain  and 
valley  of  Quito,  after  having  crossed  the  pass  of  Chimbo- 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

razo,  when  we  met  a  number  of  them  returning  from 
Kiobamba,  laden  with  goods  received  in  exchange  for  the 
produce  of  the  farms.  Among  the  rest,  I  observed  an 
Indian  woman,  entirely  blind,  with  her  hand  placed  on 
the  shoulder  of  another  woman  who  was  travelling  by 
her  side,  each  carrying  a  weight  of  more  than  a  hundred 
pounds.  The  Indian  men  no  sooner  descried  us  than 
they  uncovered  their  heads,  and,  as  they  approached,  sa 
luted  us  in  the  following  words  :  "Praise  the  holy  sacra 
ment  of  the  altar ; "  to  which  the  master,  according  to 
usage,  replied,  "  Praise  it  evermore."  *  They  did  not 
venture  to  cover  their  heads  again  until  they  had  nearly 
lost  sight  of  us. 

It  is  frequently  remarked  that  slavery  is  unknown  in 
South  America,  but  there  are  various  ways  in  which  an 
Indian  is  virtually  deprived  of  his  freedom.  In  case  he 
should  be  unable  to  pay  the  tribute  money,  (which  is 
exacted  under  a  republican,  just  as  it  was  under  a  mo 
narchical  form  of  government,)  he  is  "obliged  to  sell  his 
personal  service  to  a  landholder,  who  discharges  his  debt, 
but  who  furnishes  him  clothing  or  other  articles  at  an 
exorbitant  price,  so  that  the  Indian  is  naturally  insol 
vent,  and  becomes  a  slave  for  life ;  his  yearly  wages 
amounting  to  only  eighteen  dollars,  or  to  the  sum  of  five 
cents  a  day.  I  have  seen  several  Indians  taken  to  prison 
for  the  non-payment  of  the  tribute  money,  who  are  left 
there  to  famish  upon  a  scanty  allowance  of  parched  corn, 
unless  a  wife  or  daughter  can  buy  or  beg  the  money  re 
quired  for  his  ransom. 

It  also  frequently  happens  that  a  parish  priest  enslaves 
one  of  the  sons  of  an  Indian,  in  payment  of  the  burial 
fees  of  another.  That  such  fees  must  be  paid  irremis- 

*  Or,  "  Alabado  sea  el  aanto  sacramento  del  altar."  "  Siempre 
alabado." 

b 


XIV  PREFACE. 

sibly  will  appear  from  the  following  occurrence  :  While 
I  was  in  the  valley  of  Chillo,  in  1836,  a  violent  alterca 
tion  took  place  between  two  parish  priests,  respecting  the 
bodies  of  four  Indians  who  had  been  drowned  in  attempt 
ing  to  cross  a  rapid  river,  which  formed  the  boundary 
between  the  two  parishes.  In  consequence  of  the  diffi 
culty  of  settling  the  dispute  amicably,  it  was  found 
necessary  to  have  the  bodies  interred  by  order  of  the  civil 
magistrate. 

The  report  which  follows  describes  the  Indian  as  a  de 
fenceless  being,  who,  while  he  toils  for  others,  claims 
nothing  as  his  own :  the  truth  of  this  might  be  inferred 
from  the  following  occurrence  :  During  one  of  those  fear 
ful  storms  of  hail,  thunder,  and  lightning  which  are  so  fre 
quent  in  Quito,  I  lent  to  an  Indian,  who  was  just  returning 
to  the  farm-house  where  I  had  first  known  him,  a  cover 
ing  of  India  rubber,  called  a  ponclio,  to  protect  him  from 
the  hail.  On  my  return  to  the  valley,  the  following  day, 
he  told  me  with  grief  that  the  "poncho"  was  missing;  and 
after  searching  for  it  in  vain,  the  overseer  of  the  estate 
informed  me  that  the  tithe -gatherer  had  passed  that  way 
the  day  previous,  and,  as  it  was  his  custom  to  lay  hold 
of  any  thing  valuable  that  an  Indian  possessed,  he  had 
probably  appropriated  it  to  himself. 

In  regard  to  the  practice  of  giving  the  Indian  no  other 
meat  but  that  of  animals  that  die  in  the  field,  most  of 
which  they  throw  to  the  dogs,  I  have  no  other  evidence 
than  the  testimony  of  overseers,  who  have  assured  me 
that  it  is  the  universal  practice  throughout  the  Province 
of  Quito,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Province  of  Coquimbo, 
in  Chili. 

That  the  clergy  have  not  reformed  their  lives  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  they  are  almost  supplanted  by  the  Jes 
uits.  Nor  has  their  mode  of  worship  any  tendency  to  pro- 


PREFACE.  XV 

duce  a  reform.  Processions  are  celebrated  with  great  pomp. 
The  bishop  walks  to  the  cathedral  on  festival  days,  ac 
companied  by  a  train  of  attendants,  while  the  people  fall 
on  their  knees  to  receive  his  blessing.  At  ten  in  the 
morning  the  host  is  raised  for  adoration  in  the  churches, 
and  at  six  in  the  evening  a  heavy  bell  is  struck,  when 
the  din  of  business  is  hushed,  and  the  whole  population 
unite  in  a  solemn  act  of  idolatrous  homage  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  Under  such  auspices,  who  would  attempt  to  re 
form  the  state  of  morals  ? 

A  partial  external  reform  is  visible  in  the  convents  ;  but, 
of  their  general  character,  I  have  only  to  repeat  what  was 
said  to  me  by  a  monk,  who  appeared  more  rational  than 
his  associates,  which  was,  that  if  one  desired  and  sought 
the  salvation  of  his  soul,  he  would  never  become  the  in 
mate  of  a  monastery.  The  aristocracy  of  the  Fraternities 
will  appear  from  the  following  circumstance  :  While  I 
was  conversing  one  morning  writh  the  provincial  of  a  mon 
astery,  in  his  own  apartment,  a  monk  came  in  to  ask  leave 
of  absence  from  the  convent  for  a  few  days.  His  request 
having  been  granted,  he  thanked  the  holy  father  with 
great  reverence,  and,  prostrating  himself  upon  the  floor, 
kissed  the  fringe  of  his  robe,  in  token  of  respect  and 
gratitude.  It  is  needless  to  adduce  further  examples  in 
answer  to  the  objection  that  the  scandals  brought  to  view 
in  this  report  belong  to  a  less  enlightened  age  ;  but  it 
may,  however,  be  objected,  that  to  hold  up  such  a  pic 
ture  of  human  weakness  only  allures  to  the  practice  of 
vice.  On  the  contrary,  it  may  serve  for  instruction  and 
warning  to  a  reflecting  mind.  It  is  when  fortune  smiles, 
and  new  temptations  assail  us,  that  error  creeps  in  by 
stealth  ;  and,  indeed,  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already 
work  ;  the  simplicity  of  primitive  worship  is  disappear 
ing,  and  the  spirit  of  Popery  and  paganism  exhibits  itself 


XVI  PREFACE. 

in  our  land  in  the  use  of  unmeaning  types  and  emblems, 
in  the  practice  of  consecrating  cemeteries  for  the  repose  of 
the  dead,  and  in  costly  church  edifices,  erected  ostensibly 
to  honor  the  great  Jehovah,  who  has  heaven  for  his 
throne,  and  earth  for  his  footstool. 

The  translation  is  intended  to  exhibit  the  fruits  of  ava 
rice,  and  it  is  commended  to  the  reading  of  those  who 
have  gone  to  enter  upon  new  paths  to  wealth  and  dis 
tinction.  In  view  of  the  woes  inflicted  by  man  upon  his 
fellow-man^ we  are  bound,  by  every  motive  of  duty  and 
gratitude,  to  carry  with  us,  wherever  we  go,  the  benign 
influence  of  that  gospel  which  is  destined  to  make  of  all 
nations  one  great  family,  all  whose  members  will  delight 
to  contribute  to  each  other's  happiness  and  prosperity. 
Should  the  work  meet  the  eye  of  any  among  us  who 
murmur,  like  the  Israelites  of  old,  and  who  cast  re 
proach  upon  the  worthy  name  of  our  Puritan  fathers, 
they  will  learn,  perhaps,  neither  to  despise  their  "  goodly 
heritage,"  nor  envy  the  lot  of  their  brethren  on  the  south 
ern  continent,  who,  although  they  are  rich  in  untold 
treasures  of  gold  and  silver,  have  never  known  the  value 
of  that  inestimable  treasure  which  has  been  transmitted 
to  us  —  the  Holy  Bible. 


The  following  explanations  may  be  found  useful :  — 
The  Spanish  word  curd,  translated  curate,  properly 
signifies  rector,  or  one  who  is  subject  only  to  the  bishop 
of  his  diocese,  or  to  the  provincial  of  his  Order.  The 
curates  or  rectors  receive  no  fixed  salary,  but  only  a  con 
tingent  revenue,  estimated  by  the  number  of  masses, 
responses,  and  fees  for  baptisms,  marriages,  and  inter 
ments. 


PREFACE.  XV11 

^fetat  or  Mita,  signifies  an  annual  conscription  of  In 
dians,  who  are  drawn  by  lot,  to  be  placed  under  the 
absolute  control  of  the  proprietor  of  a  mine. 

Metayo  is  the  Indian  who  performs  the  meta  service. 

Alcabala  is  an  excise  duty  on  goods  despatched  into  the 
interior  provinces. 

The  courts,  or  the  tribunals  of  justice,  in  Peru,  are 
called  "Audiences"  and  the  members  of  them,  or  the 
judges,  are  called  oydors. 

The  term  Provincial  is  applied  to  the  superior  of  a 
metropolitan  convent,  who  has  under  his  jurisdiction  all 
the  minor  convents  of  his  order,  comprehended  within 
the  limits  of  a  particular  state  or  province. 

I* 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Cruelty  of  the  Magistrates  and  Clergy  to  the  Indians. 
—  Miserable  Condition  to  which  the  latter  are  re 
duced. —  Method  used  in  auditing  the  Accounts  of 
the  Governors  and  Corregidors,  ....  9 

CHAPTER    II. 

The  same  Subject  continued, 49 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  same  Subject  continued.  —  Sequestration  of  Lands 
belonging  to  the  Indians 84 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Extortions  which  the  Indians  suffer  from  the  Parish 
Priests.  —  Corrupt  Morals  and  scandalous  Life  of  the 
Clergy,  both  secular  and  regular,  .'•*',  .  .106 


XX  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

Showing  that  the  Unwillingness  of  the  Gentile  Indians 
to  receive  the  Gospel  and  to  submit  to  the  Authority 
of  the  Kings  of  Spain  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  ex 
treme  Sufferings  of  the  civilized  Indians,  as  will  ap 
pear  from  the  limited  Influence  and  partial  Success 
of  the  Catholic  Missions, 136 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Prevalence  of  Party  Spirit  between  Europeans  and 
Creoles.  —  Its  chief  Source,  and  the  Evils  resulting 
from  it  in  the  Cities  and  large  Towns,  .  .  .  170 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Gross  Licentiousness  of  the  Clergy  in  general,  and  par 
ticularly  of  the  Monks.  —  Tumults  attending  the 
capitulary  Elections. — Their  principal  Cause.  .  193 

NOTES *  '-.'"Y;    .       .       .    221 


V 


SECRET  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER   I. 

Cruelty  of  the  Magistrates  and  Clergy  to  the  Indians. — 
Miserable  Condition  to  which  the  latter  are  reduced. — 
Method  used  in  auditing  the  Accounts  of  the  Governors 
and  Corregidors. 

SUBJECTS  of  speculation  become  interesting  to 
the  mind  in  proportion  as  it  contemplates  them, 
especially  when  genius  and  industry  lend  their  aid 
to  render  them  more  luminous  and  fascinating; 
but  they  appear,  and  not  without  reason,  to  pos 
sess  peculiar  attractions  for  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  as  a  means 
of  rational  entertainment.  Of  the  truth  of  this  we 
can  furnish  the  best  evidence,  inasmuch  as  it  has 
been  the  result  of  our  own  experience.  After  we 
had  collected  in  one  volume  the  astronomical  and 
physical  observations  made  in  the  kingdom  of 
Peru,  illustrating  the  figure  and  magnitude  of  the 
earth,  and  had  published  in  two  others  historical 


10  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

notices  of  those  countries,  it  seemed  as  if  all  the 
satisfaction  we  had  experienced  in  writing  those 
works  was  exceedingly  augmented  when  we  came 
lo  draw  up  this  report,  and  the  mind,  absorbed  in 
its  speculations,  now  enters  upon  the  subject,  not 
with  fatigue,  but  rather  alacrity,  as  it  reaches  this 
point  of  its  inquiries,  enabling  us  to  present  a  more 
animated  picture  of  what  has  been  already  brought 
to  view  in  those  works ;  and  if  our  readers  have 
been  inclined  to  attribute  any  thing  to  neglect  or 
omission,  it  should  be  regarded  as  the  dictate  of 
prudence  on  our  part,  that  we  may  now  have  an 
opportunity  to  speak  with  more  freedom,  reserving 
for  this  place  what  it  would  have  been  inexpedient 
to  introduce  in  the  history  of  our  travels. 

Having  concluded  our  remarks  relative  to  the 
marine,  the  fortifications,  and  the  commerce  of 
Peru,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  discuss  a  subject  of 
a  more  delicate  nature,  and  which  relates  almost 
exclusively  to  the  moral  and  religious  condition  of 
the  civilized  Indians  of  Peru,  and  the  character 
and  conduct  of  their  rulers,  both  civil  and  ecclesi 
astical.  Unbiased  by  prejudice  or  by  any  per 
sonal  consideration  whatever,  we  have  made  the 
most  diligent  inquiry  in  respect  to  every  thing 
suggested  in  the  instructions  of  his  majesty's  sec 
retaries,  and  we  now  lay  before  them  the  result 
of  our  observations ;  and  as  the  details  embodied 
in  this  part  of  our  report  are  communicated  for  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  11 

information  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  know 
them,  and  not  as  pastime  for  the  idle,  nor  to  afford 
matter  of  scandal  to  the  mischievous,  they  are 
brought  to  light  with  entire  frankness,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  duly  considered,  and  the  best  means 
of  reform  devised. 

The  subject  to  be  discussed  in  this  chapter  is 
of  such  a  nature  that  we  cannot  enter  upon  it 
without  emotions  of  sorrow  ;  much  less  can  we 
pause  to  reflect  upon  the  circumstances  of  its  de 
tails,  without  heartfelt  pity  for  the  miseries  of  a 
race  of  men  who,  for  no  other  crime  than  their 
simplicity,  and  for  no  other  pretext  than  their  nat 
ural  ignorance,  have  become  the  victims  of  a  kind 
of  bondage  so  oppressive  that,  in  view  of  the  suf 
ferings  inflicted  upon  them,  the  colonial  negro 
slaves  may  be  regarded  as  comparatively  happy 
—  the  state  of  servitude  to  which  the  latter  are 
brought  being  justly  envied  by  those  who  are  nom 
inally  free,  and  whom  our  sovereigns  have  taught 
us  to  regard  as  such ;  for  the  condition  of  the 
Indian  is  far  more  degraded  and  miserable  than 
that  of  the  African  slave. 

Our  first  object  will  be  to  describe  the  kind  of 
tyranny  exercised  by  the  corregidors  over  the  In 
dians  ;  and,  although  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  begin 
ning,  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of  a  division  in  the 
Departments  of  Peru  which  has  existed  from  the 
time  of  the  conquest.  These  Departments  are  of 


12       SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

two  kinds :  the  first  are  those  in  which  the  distri 
bution  system  is  not  established ;  and  the  second, 
those  in  which  it  may  lawfully  be  practised. 

The  oppression  which  the  Indians  suffer  arises 
from  the  insatiable  thirst  for  wealth,  which  is  char 
acteristic  of  those  who  go  over  to  govern  them ; 
and  as  they  have  no  means  of  effecting  their  ob 
ject  except  by  a  system  of  tyranny,  they  never 
fail  to  practise  it  in  every  shape  ;  and,  by  goading 
the  Indians  on  every  side  with  the  utmost  cruelty, 
they  exact  more  service  from  them  than  they 
would  be  able  to  do  from  the  meanest  slave.  It  is 
true  that  the  distribution  system  is  unknown  in 
Quito ;  but  although  it  is  the  good  fortune  of  the 
Indians  of  that  province  to  be  exempted  from  that 
species  of  oppression,  they  are  not  the  less  subject 
to  burdens  so  intolerable  as  to  reduce  them  to 
the  lowest  degree  of  wretchedness  that  can  be 
imagined. 

A  great  variety  of  expedients  are  adopted  by 
the  corregidors  to  enrich  themselves  at  the  expense 
of  the  Indians.  The  first  to  be  mentioned  is  the 
mode  of  collecting  the  tribute  money,  an  iniquitous 
system  carried  on  in  contempt  of  the  principles  of 
justice  and  the  dictates  of  humanity.  The  fees 
for  collection  are  enumerated  by  the  corregidors 
among  the  perquisites  of  their  office  ;  and  if  they 
were  actuated  by  a  sense  of  justice  in  the  dis 
charge  of  their  duty,  they  would  neither  aggrandize 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  13 

themselves,  nor  wrong  the  Indian,  nor  defraud  the 
treasury  ;  but  their  unprincipled  conduct  begets 
all  these  evils ;  for  they  have  such  an  inordinate 
love  of  wealth  that  they  spare  no  pains  to  accu 
mulate  it,  and  have  recourse  to  the  most  oppressive 
measures,  in  entire  confidence  that,  when  their 
term  of  office  expires,  they  shall  be  absolved  from 
every  charge  by  holding  out  the  offer  of  a  bribe 
to  the  judge  on  whom  it  devolves  to  audit  their 
accounts. 

With  a  view  to  collect  this  tax,  the  corregidor 
makes  two  annual  visits  to  all  the  villages  and  es 
tates  comprised  within  his  jurisdiction.  St.  John's 
day  and  Christmas  day  are  appropriated  to  this 
object — a  judicious  measure,  if,  in  carrying  it  into 
effect,  the  avarice  of  the  collector  did  not  over 
step  all  bounds  in  oppressing  that  unfortunate  race, 
whom  our  sovereign  regards  with  so  much  pity 
that  he  has  issued  a  decree  in  order  to  lighten 
their  burdens  as  much  as  possible,  enjoining  the 
magistrates  not  to  collect  tribute  from  them  until 
they  have  completed  their  eighteenth  year,  and  to 
exempt  them  from  payment  after  the  age  of  fifty- 
five,  on  the  ground  that,  as  their  strength  fails,  they 
are  incapable  of  sustaining  any  other  exertion  than 
that  which  is  necessary  for  their  own  maintenance. 
The  greater  part  of  the  tribute  money  was  de 
signed  to  be  expended  for  their  own  benefit ;  out 
of  it  they  are  required  to  pay  not  only  the  curate's 
2 


14  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

fees,  but  the  charges  of  the  fiscal  protector  who 
defends  their  suits.  The  chief,  by  right  of  the 
chiefship,  as  well  as  the  Indian  governors,  are  ex 
empt  from  every  kind  of  impost ;  so  also  are  the 
crippled,  the  blind,  the  demented,  and  the  de 
formed,  of  which  last  two  there  are  great  numbers 
among  the  Indians  ;  neither  is  the  obligation  to  pay 
tribute  binding  upon  the  eldest  sons  of  the  chiefs, 
nor  upon  those  who  hold  the  office  of  sextons  in 
the  churches,  or  who  belong  to  the  choir  of  music, 
nor  upon  any  Indian  magistrate  who  holds  an  office 
in  the  Indian  towns  and  villages.  Under  such  a 
system,  it  appears  as  if  the  tribute  of  the  Indians 
cannot  be  more  moderate,  unless  we  exempt  them 
from  contributions  of  every  kind.  But  what  mat 
ters  it  that  it  should  appear  so,  when  viewed  from 
a  distance,  if  the  best  laws  are  trampled  upon  in 
practice,  and  rendered  inoperative  by  a  system  of 
cruelty  and  injustice?  The  corregidors  not  only 
oblige  the  young  to  pay  tribute  before  the  time 
specified,  but  exact  it  of  those  who  are  exempt  by 
law,  having  attained  the  age  of  fifty-five  ;  and, 
although  they  are  so  advanced  in  years  as  to  beg, 
for  want  of  strength  to  labor,  their  names  are  not 
erased  from  the  list  of  the  collector  ;  and  as  the 
Indians  are  remarkable  for  longevity,  they  fre 
quently  pay  tribute  till  they  have  passed  the  age 
of  seventy.  The  same  practice  obtains  in  respect 
to  all,  when  they  are  not  wholly  disabled  from 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  15 

work  by  infirmity ;  so  that  none  are  exempt  ex 
cept  such  as  are  incapable  of  earning  a  livelihood. 
If  the  chiefs,  the  governors,  and  sextons  escape 
the  contagion  of  misery,  it  is  because  they  are  be 
yond  the  reach  of  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  cor- 
regidors  ;  for  in  case  they  were  as  defenceless  as 
the  rest,  the  same  thing  would  happen  to  them. 

It  might  appear  that  the  injustice  done  the  In 
dians  by  the  corregidors,  in  obliging  them  to  pay 
when  they  are  exempted  by  royal  favor,  is  not  so 
great  as  our  last  remark  would  imply,  because  it 
falls  exclusively  on  those  who  are  nominally  a 
privileged  class,  and  not  upon  the  whole  commu 
nity  of  Indians.  This  conclusion,  however,  is  in 
correct,  for  the  injury  is  felt  by  all ;  by  some,  in 
being  compelled  to  pay  tribute,  by  the  mere  caprice 
of  the  corregidor,  prior  to  the  competent  age,  as 
is  the  case  with  the  greater  part  of  them,  who  con 
tribute  two  or  three  years  before  they  are  bound 
to  ;  and  by  others,  in  continuing  to  pay  after  hav 
ing  passed  the  age  prescribed  by  law.  It  also  hap 
pens  that,  the  young  not  having  enjoyed  a  season 
of  repose  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  labor  with 
the  requisite  assiduity,  being  made  subject  to  trib 
ute  illegally,  fathers  and  elder  brothers  are  bound, 
if  they  would  not  see  a  son  or  brother  punished 
with  the  whip,  to  unite  their  efforts  to  help  him 
earn  the  tribute  money ;  and  if  they  fail  to  do  so, 
daughters  and  wives  must  put  their  hands  to  the 


16  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO   PERU. 

work,  in  order  to  make  up  the  deficiency  in  the 
amount  due :  hence  it  is  that  the  age  in  which 
they  have  a  right  to  enjoy  some  repose  is  that  in 
which  their  burdens  are  heaviest.  The  same  takes 
place  in  respect  to  idiots,  deformed  persons,  and 
other  unfortunate  creatures,  who  ought  to  be  of 
the  privileged  class  ;  but  so  far  from  it,  the  burden 
is  made  to  fall  upon  the  rest,  who,  in  addition  to 
the  labor  necessary  to  pay  their  own  contribution, 
have  to  perform  a  twofold  task  to  pay  the  tribute 
of  those  who  are  unable  to  work.  The  Indian 
women,  especially,  are  obliged  to  task  themselves 
the  whole  year  round,  in  order  to  meet,  by  unre 
mitting  toil,  the  unjust  demands  of  the  corregidor. 
Nor  is  the  rapacity  of  the  corregidor  content 
with  obliging  those  to  pay  tribute  who  are  ex 
empted  by  law ;  but  it  is  often  carried  to  such  an 
extreme  as  to  enforce  the  payment  of  a  twofold 
contribution.  This  is  practised  towards  the  field 
Indians,  which  are  those  who  neither  perform  the 
meta  service  nor  live  in  the  Indian  villages ;  these 
poor  laborers  pay  the  tribute  to  the  corregidor  or 
his  subalterns,  who  are  numerous,  and  who  give 
them  a  receipt  for  the  money  ;  but,  as  the  Indians 
are  an  untaught  race,  and  have  not  sagacity  to 
foresee  the  consequences  of  neglect,  besides  not 
having  in  their  huts  either  box  or  shelf  where  to 
place  any  thing  for  security,  it  sometimes  happens 
that  the  receipt  is  lost,  and  payment  is  demanded 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  17 

a  second  time  ;  and  when  another  collector,  or 
perhaps  the  same,  comes  to  enforce  the  demand, 
the  Indian  goes  to  look  for  the  receipt,  and,  as  he 
is  unable  to  read,  he  brings  the  first  paper  that 
comes  to  hand,  or  perhaps  an  old  receipt,  and  pre 
sents  it  without  fear  of  being  suspected.  The 
collector  is  not  satisfied  with  it,  and,  although  the 
Indian  weary  himself  in  convincing  him  that  he 
has  paid  his  portion  of  the  tribute,  he  charges  him 
with  fraudulent  designs,  and,  after  abusing  him, 
carries  off  whatever  he  can  find  in  his  hut,  and  if 
there  is  nothing  there  of  any  value,  he  puts  him 
into  a  factory,  (which  is  the  usual  method,)  where 
he  is  kept  at  work  until  the  debt  is  paid.  The 
wretched  Indian,  finding  himself  grievously  op 
pressed,  and  sinking  under  the  weight  of  want  and 
of  a  sense  of  injustice,  dies  in  a  short  time,  unless 
his  wife  or  daughters  have  been  able  to  raise  the 
amount  required,  or  unless  some  individual,  more 
compassionate  than  the  rest,  comes  forward  to  ad 
vance  the  money,  on  condition  of  recovering  it  by 
hiring  the  Indian  out  to  service.  The  meta  In 
dians  do  not  pay  tribute  personally,  but  the  masters 
whom  they  serve  pay  for  them,  and  collect  and 
preserve  receipts  for  all  those  who  are  under  their 
charge,  and  by  this  means  they  are  shielded  from 
injustice.  Those  who  live  in  small  villages  pay 
the  cacique,  who  delivers  the  whole  amount,  when 
collected,  to  the  corregidor. 
2* 


18  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Besides  the  privilege  granted  to  those  who  are 
exempted  from  tribute,  another  not  less  reasonable 
has  been  conceded  in  favor  of  those  Indians  who 
have  been  absent  for  a  certain  term,  perhaps  for 
one  or  two  years,  without  having  paid  tribute  in 
the  Department  to  which  they  belong,  which  is, 
that,  on  their  return,  they  are  liable  for  only  one 
third  of  the  contribution  —  a  very  merciful  provi 
sion  in  behalf  of  that  race,  and  which  has  in  its  sup 
port  two  important  arguments  —  one  that,  as  all 
the  corregidors  collect  tribute  of  transient  Indians 
in  the  same  way  as  they  do  of  those  who  reside 
in  the  villages,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that,  although 
the  Indian  may  not  have  paid  the  corregidor  of  his 
district,  he  has  paid  some  other  ;  the  second  rea 
son  is,  that,  although  the  Indian  should  have  paid 
no  corregidor  in  two  or  three  years,  and  although 
in  the  lapse  of  this  period  he  may  have  earned  a 
great  deal,  at  the  close  of  it  he  has  no  more  stock 
or  estate  than  that  which  was  left  him  after  having 
made  his  last  payment ;  so  that,  being  insolvent, 
he  is  naturally  discharged  from  the  debt.  But  this 
is  not  the  case  in  practice  ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  In 
dian  appears,  he  is  made  debtor  for  all  the  time 
that  has  elapsed  since  the  corregidor  came  into 
office  for  which  he  cannot  show  receipts ;  hence 
he  is  treated  in  the  manner  above  mentioned ;  if 
he  possess  any  thing  of  value,  it  is  deducted  on 
account  of  the  debt,  but  he  is  not  discharged 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  19 

from  the  factory  until  the  whole  amount  has 
been  paid. 

All  these  acts  of  extortion,  which  are  committed 
under  a  false  pretence  of  zeal  in  the  service  of  the 
king  and  of  the  royal  exchequer,  are  in  reality 
nothing  but  artifices  used  to  augment  the  revenue 
of  the  corregidors  themselves,  who  basely  assume 
this  mask  to  justify  their  iniquity,  which,  however 
it  may  be  disguised  under  one  form  of  oppression, 
never  fails  to  come  to  light  by  means  of  another. 

The  Indians  of  those  countries  are  in  reality 
slaves,  and  happy  would  it  be  for  them  had  they 
only  one  master  to  whom  to  contribute  the  avails 
of  their  hard  earnings ;  but  these  are  so  numerous, 
that,  in  view  of  the  obligations  they  are  under  to 
all  of  them,  they  cannot  claim  as  their  own  the 
smallest  portion  of  all  they  have  acquired  with  so 
much  care  and  industry.  But  this  chapter  having 
for  its  subject  the  extortions  of  the  corregidors,  we 
shall  afterwards  treat  of  those  which  are  practised 
upon  them  by  other  classes  of  magistrates,  both 
civil  and  ecclesiastical. 

The  Departments  of  the  Province  of  Quito  are 
of  various  kinds  —  some  of  trade,  others  of  hus 
bandry,  and  others  of  manufactures.  In  them  all 
a  large  portion  of  the  revenue  reverts  to  the  cor 
regidors.  In  the  trading  districts  they  absorb  the 
greater  part,  for  they  take  into  their  own  service 
the  very  Indians  whom  they  deprive  of  the  benefit 


20  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

of  trade,  and  by  giving  them  what  is  barely  neces 
sary  for  their  support,  they  secure  to  themselves 
the  profits  which  they  have  usurped  from  them, 
and  by  requiring  them  to  labor  on  alternate  days, 
they  keep  them  always  employed  in  their  service. 
In  these  districts,  where  all  the  Indians  included 
in  their  precincts  are  weavers,  they  compel  them 
to  manufacture  different  articles,  and,  by  giving 
them  the  materials  only,  and  very  reduced  wages, 
they  keep  them  constantly  employed  for  their  ben 
efit,  as  they  would  do  if  they  were  slaves.  Should 
they,  in  return  for  so  hard  labor,  remit  to  them 
their  tribute  money,  the  burden  might  be  made 
tolerable  ;  but  far  from  doing  them  this  kindness, 
(and  it  would  be  only  an  act  of  justice,)  they  ex 
act  it  with  as  much  severity  as  if  they  had  ren 
dered  them  no  service  during  the  whole  year. 
The  only  individuals  excepted  from  this  service 
are  those  who  live  in  districts  where  there  are  es 
tates  for  agriculture  or  grazing  ;  and  if,  to  their  sor 
row,  the  case  should  occur  that  the  corregidor  has 
an  estate  of  his  own,  or  a  hired  one,  it  comes  to 
be  the  rendezvous  of  all  the  Indians  who  have  not 
paid  their  tribute  promptly,  and  thus,  on  every 
hand,  that  people  have  no  more  freedom  than  the 
corregidor  pleases  to  grant  them,  nor  any  more 
fruit  of  their  labor  than  what  is  conceded  to  them 
as  a  mere  gratuity. 

Still  greater  iniquity  is  practised  in  suits  at  law, 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  21 

for  their  judges  desire  nothing  so  much  as  some 
occasion  of  dispute  or  difference  to  complete  their 
ruin;  so  that,  be  the  motive  what  it  will,  it  is 
always  sufficient  to  secure  their  object;  for,  what 
with  fines,  and  what  with  costs  of  suit,  they  lay 
hold  of  a  mule,  cow,  or  any  animal  the  Indian 
may  possess,  and  which  constitutes  the  whole  es 
tate  of  the  richest  among  them.  These  acts  of 
extortion,  which  have  no  limit,  have  reduced  them 
to  a  condition  so  deplorable  that  the  state  of  the 
most  miserable  beings  that  can  be  conceived  is  not 
to  be  compared  with  that  of  these  Indians.  Let 
us  now  take  a  view  of  what  obtains  in  the  districts 
in  which  the  distributions  are  made,  and  we  shall 
witness  greater  enormities,  although  of  a  different 
nature. 

It  is  from  the  department  of  Loja  that  the  dis 
tribution  system  (repartimientos)  commences — a 
system  so  iniquitous  that  it  appears  to  have  been 
imposed  upon  that  race  by  way  of  punishment,  for 
nothing  more  oppressive  can  be  imagined.  It 
must  be  admitted  that,  if  it  were  properly  man 
aged,  as  it  appears  to  have  been  intended  in  its 
origin,  no  evil  would  result ;  for  with  a  view  to 
the  greater  convenience  of  the  Indians,  and  that 
they  might  not  be  destitute  of  the  means  of  cloth 
ing  themselves  and  of  carrying  on  their  husbandry 
or  trade,  corregidors  were  allowed  to  purchase  a 
quantity  of  such  articles  as  were  suited  to  each 


22  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

department,  and  to  distribute  them  among  the  In 
dians  at  moderate  prices,  in  order  that,  having 
implements  for  labor,  they  might  shake  off  the 
apathy  which  is  innate  in  their  constitution,  and 
use  the  exertion  requisite  for  paying  their  tribute 
and  earning  a  livelihood.  Were  it  continued  on 
this  principle,  and  were  the  corregidor  content  with 
moderate  profits,  it  would  be  a  judicious  system  ; 
but  as  it  is  now  practised,  it  deserves  no  other  ep 
ithet  but  that  of  the  most  dreadful  tyranny  that 
could  be  invented. 

The  articles  of  distribution  are  chiefly  mules, 
foreign  and  domestic  goods,  and  produce  ;  and  as 
this  system  was  commenced  at  an  early  period,  it 
is  already  understood  what  articles  are  suited  to 
each  Department.  The  corregidors  who  are  at 
tached  to  the  viceroyalty  of  Lima  must  necessa 
rily  go  to  that  city  to  take  out  a  license,  and  to 
receive  their  despatch  from  the  viceroy,  in  order 
to  be  inducted  into  office  ;  and  as  Lima  is  the 
grand  depot  of  the  trade  of  Peru,  it  is  in  that  city 
that  an  assortment  of  articles  for  distribution  is  to 
be  made,  and  for  this  purpose  they  take  the  goods 
required  from  the  shop  of  some  merchant  or  trader 
on  credit,  at  an  exorbitant  price  ;  and  as  the  traders 
are  aware  of  the  enormous  profits  the  corregidors 
make  in  the  sale,  they  raise  the  prices  of  the  goods, 
in  order  to  have  a  share  in  the  speculation.  The 
corregidors  have  no  money  before  they  come  into 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  23 

office,  and,  being  unable  to  purchase  for  a  ready 
sum,  they  are  obliged  to  submit  to  any  terms 
which  the  creditor  may  prescribe,  as  they  are  in 
duty  bound,  on  account  of  the  money  which  the 
merchant  is  to  lend  him  for  the  purchase  of  the 
mules  required  for  transportation. 

As  soon  as  the  corregidor  comes  within  his  juris 
diction,  the  first  act  of  his  administration  is  to  take 
a  census  of  the  Indians,  according  to  their  towns 
and  villages.  Proceeding  to  this  duty  in  person, 
and  taking  with  him  the  articles  of  merchandise 
to  be  distributed,  he  goes  on,  apportioning  the 
quantity  and  kind  he  selects  for  every  Indian,  and 
affixing  to  each  article  its  price,  just  as  suits  his 
caprice,  the  poor  Indians  being  wholly  ignorant  of 
what  is  to  fall  to  their  lot,  or  how  much  it  is  to 
cost  them.  As  soon  as  he  has  finished  distributing 
in  one  village,  he  transfers  the  whole  assortment 
to  the  cacique,  with  an  exact  inventory  of  the  arti 
cles  belonging  to  each  individual,  from  the  cacique 
himself  to  the  most  humble  of  all  those  who  are 
to  pay  tribute ;  and  the  corregidor  proceeds  to 
another  village,  in  order  to  continue  the  distribu 
tion.  It  is  a  time  of  anguish,  both  to  the  cacique 
and  the  Indians,  when  they  look  at  the  quantity, 
quality,  and  prices  of  the  goods.  In  vain  does 
the  cacique  remonstrate,  and  to  no  purpose  do  the 
Indians  raise  their  clamors  ;  on  the  one  hand,  they 
maintain  that  their  means  are  not  adequate  to  such 


24  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

a  quantity  of  merchandise  as  is  assigned  them, 
being  absolutely  unable  to  pay  for  it;  again,  they 
urge  that  goods  of  such  a  description  are  utterly 
useless  to  them,  and  that  the  prices  are  so  exorbi 
tant  as  to  exceed  any  thing  they  had  ever  paid 
before.  The  corregidor  remains  inexorable,  and 
the  Indians  are  obliged  to  take  whatever  has  been 
allotted  them,  however  repugnant  it  may  be  to 
their  wishes,  and  however  straitened  they  are  for 
want  of  means  to  make  the  payments ;  for  these 
payments  become  due  simultaneously  with  the 
tribute  money,  and  a  failure  to  meet  one  or  the 
other  with  promptness  makes  them  liable  to  a 
penalty  equally  severe.  The  whole  cost  of  the 
first  distribution  must  be  paid  within  two  years  and 
a  half,  to  make  room  for  the  second,  which  com 
mences  at  the  close  of  that  period,  but  which  does 
not  contain  so  great  an  assortment  as  the  first. 

In  addition  to  these  supplies,  which  are  usually 
the  most  important,  whenever  the  corregidor  makes 
a  visit  to  collect  debts,  (and  he  never  does  it  for 
any  other  motive,)  he  takes  with  him  an  assort 
ment  of  goods,  to  apportion  an  additional  quantity 
to  those  who  have  made  their  payments  most 
promptly  ;  and,  as  the  Indians  have  received  in 
the  first  division  those  articles  which  are  of  least 
value  to  them,  (such  as  are  of  absolute  necessity 
being  kept  back  for  this  occasion,)  all  who  are  in 
want  are  obliged  to  take  them  under  the  denom- 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  25 

ination  of  a  voluntary  sale ;  and,  although  they 
are  at  liberty  on  this  occasion  to  select  such  arti 
cles  as  £hey  like,  they  are  not  so  as  to  the  bar 
gain  :  to  set  the  price  is  a  prerogative  reserved  to 
the  corregidor ;  which  is  so  well  understood  that 
the  poor  Indians  no  longer  think  it  strange  that 
they  must  submit  to  it  without  murmuring. 

It  is  not  left  to  the  choice  of  the  Indians  to  sup 
ply  themselves  elsewhere,  even,  with  the  neces 
sary  articles  furnished  by  the  corregidor;  hence 
they  are  obliged  to  purchase  them  at  his  hands  ; 
for  in  the  towns  that  are  exclusively  Indian  they 
do  not  license  any  shop  but  their  own,  and  they 
have  one  in  every  village,  to  which  all  must  of 
necessity  go  to  purchase.  The  latter  obtains  like 
wise  in  the  departments  of  the  Province  of  Quito, 
where  goods  are  also  sold  at  exorbitant  prices,  but 
not  so  much  so  as  in  the  rest  of  Peru,  where  the 
distribution  system  prevails.  Nor  can  the  Indian 
decline  receiving  the  goods  at  the  price  stipulated 
by  the  corregidor,  even  though  he  pay  in  ready 
money,  it  being  left  to  his  choice  to  pay  or  buy  on 
credit ;  and  when  he  offers  the  money  in  advance, 
no  abatement  is  made,  as  would  be  equitable. 

Among  the  tyrannical  acts  practised  by  means 
of  the  distribution,  some  of  which  we  shall  pre 
sent  to  view,  that  which  prevails  in  apportioning 
mules  ought  to  have  the  first  place.  Of  these 
animals  the  greatest  number  are  introduced  into 
3 


26  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

those  Departments  which  carry  on  some  other 
trade  than  that  which  is  required  for  the  transport 
of  their  own  produce,  being  thoroughfares  for  the 
commerce  of  the  interior.  The  corregidors  of 
these  districts  purchase  droves  of  mules,  consisting 
of  five  or  six  hundred  each,  according  to  the  de 
mand  for  them,  and  have  them  driven  from  the 
pastures  where  they  are  bred.  Each  mule  placed 
in  his  department  costs  him  from  fourteen  to  six 
teen  dollars,  and  when  they  are  most  in  demand 
they  do  not  exceed  eighteen  ;  and  to  bring  this 
price  they  must  be  very  scarce  or  of  a  superior 
quality.  The  corregidor  afterwards  distributes 
them  among  the  Indians,  allotting  to  some  four,  to 
others  six,  and  to  all  more  or  less,  according  to 
the  supposed  ability  of  each  one  to  pay  for  them, 
and  the  usual  price  at  which  they  are  charged  to 
them  is  from  forty  to  forty-four  dollars,  and  even 
more  if  they  are  good,  the  cost  of  which  must  be 
paid  within  a  prescribed  term.  The  Indians  who 
receive  these  mules  are  not  permitted  to  make  use 
of  them  as  they  please,  for  they  are  strictly  pro 
hibited  from  hiring  them  out,  unless  it  be  with  the 
consent  of  the  corregidor  himself,  who  adopts  this 
course  under  pretext  of  avoiding  contraband  trade, 
when  the  only  ground  of  this  injustice  is,  that  they 
shall  not  hire  them  out  without  allowing  him  a 
portion  of  the  profits,  and  the  privilege  of  taking 
the  remainder  to  his  own  account  in  payment  of 
the  mules. 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  27 

As  soon  as  travellers  reach  these  Departments, 
the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  apply  to  the  cor- 
regidor  for  mules,  and  to  make  known  to  him  the 
number  they  require.  The  latter  looks  at  his  list 
to  see  which  of  the  Indians  is  most  indebted  to  him 
on  account  of  the  mules  apportioned  them,  and 
sends  for  them  to  come  from  their  villages  to  per 
form  the  journey.  The  corregidor  himself  collects 
the  amount  of  freight,  keeps  back  one  half  on  ac 
count  of  the  debt,  delivers  a  quarter  part  to  the 
owner  of  the  mules  to  pay  what  may  be  needed 
for  the  purchase  of  hay  to  feed  the  animals  on  the 
road,  and  with  the  remaining  fourth  part  he  pays 
the  peons,  whose  office  is  to  drive  and  lade  the 
mules  ;  so  that,  in  consequence  of  this  arbitrary 
distribution,  the  owner  is  left  not  only  without  any 
profit,  but  even  without  the  means  of  paying  his 
expenses  on  the  journey.  In  this  distribution  we 
may  notice  another  circumstance,  which  shows 
the  care  taken  by  these  corregidors  not  to  lose  any 
part  of  what  they  extort  from  the  Indians  ;  for, 
although  the  wages  of  the  peons  are  at  such  a  low 
rate,  they  deduct  one  half  for  account  of  what  they 
owe  for  the  supply  of  the  articles  of  clothing  they 
have  received,  though  the  term  allowed  for  pay 
ment  has  not  yet  expired. 

The  Indian  sets  out  on  his  journey  with  his 
drove,  and,  as  travelling  in  those  countries  is  at 
tended  with  hardship,  it  frequently  happens  that 


28  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  mules  tire  on  the  way,  and  that  one  or  more 
of  them  die  ;  but,  as  the  drivers  are  obliged  to 
prosecute  their  journey,  and  have  no  money  to  hire 
another  mule,  the  owner  is  obliged  to  sell  one  at  a 
very  low  price,  in  order  to  hire  two  others  with 
the  proceeds  at  a  high  price,  to  make  up  the  defi 
ciency  of  the  mule  that  died,  as  well  as  of  that 
which  was  sold.  Hence,  when  the  owner  reaches 
his  journey's  end,  he  finds  he  has  two  mules  less 
than  before,  and  has  received  no  indemnity  for  the 
loss,  but  is  more  indebted  than  ever,  and  without 
the  means  of  paying  for  his  own  maintenance. 
A  single  circumstance  might  enable  him  to  bear 
his  disappointment,  and  that  is,  the  finding  some 
return  freight  in  the  village  to  which  he  is  going  — 
a  thing  which  is  very  rare  ;  and  even  in  this  case 
he  can  take  only  a  light  load  for  the  mules 
which  he  has  left,  and  at  a  reduced  freight, 
esteeming  himself  very  fortunate  if  he  can  make 
up  his  loss  with  the  avails  of  the  return  freight, 
although  he  should  have  realized  no  profit  after  a 
journey  of  many  months. 

Cruel  as  are  the  details  of  wrong  exercised  in 
the  apportioning  of  mules  by  the  corregidors  of 
Peru,  others  still  more  oppressive  are  practised  to 
wards  the  Indians.  When,  by  dint  of  journeyings 
and  hard  labor,  the  purchaser  has  paid  the  full 
amount  due  for  the  mules  allotted  to  him,  the  cor- 
regidor  never  thinks  it  worth  a  thought  to  give  him 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  29 

excursions  on  which  he  might  realize  a  profit,  nor 
does  it  avail  him  to  seek  for  them  himself,  inas 
much  as  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  hire  out  his  mules 
to  any  one.  The  rigor  practised  in  this  respect  is 
so  extreme  that,  although  the  purchaser  of  mules 
may  be  indebted  to  the  corregidor  for  other  arti 
cles  which  he  has  allotted  him,  this  is  not  deemed 
a  sufficient  reason  why  he  should  have  an  opportu 
nity  to  work  out  the  debt  with  his  drove  of  mules, 
for  this  debt  is  to  be  paid  by  another  species  of 
labor,  such  as  the  produce  of  his  garden,  the 
earnings  of  his  wife  at  the  loom,  the  cattle  which 
he  has  reared,  or  something  equivalent.  At  other 
times,  the  corregidor  assigns  a  new  supply  of  mules 
to  the  Indians  who  have  paid  for  the  first,  even 
when  they  do  not  need  them,  in  order  to  have  a 
pretext  for  employing  them  continually  in  a  trade, 
the  entire  benefit  of  which  remains  for  his  ac 
count. 

In  view  of  all  this,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the 
Indians  are  in  a  more  pitiable  condition  than  Afri 
can  slaves,  for  the  most  that  can  be  done  with  the 
latter  is  to  give  them  a  task  in  some  department 
of  labor,  that  they  may  work  for  the  benefit  of 
the  master,  the  latter  incurring  the  risk  of  loss  or 
gain  ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  Indians,  for 
they  must  bear  the  loss  of  the  mules  that  die,  from 
the  moment  they  are  delivered  to  them,  while  the 
corregidor  claims  the  earnings  of  them  all ;  thus 


30  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

leaving  the  Indians  a  useless  possession  after  hav 
ing  paid  for  it  three  times  over,  for  they  are  not 
at  liberty  to  use  them,  nor  can  they  be  of  any  ser 
vice  to  them,  except  by  enabling  them  to  pay  for 
others  which  the  corregidor  is  to  furnish  them  in 
the  following  distribution.  A  slave  is  employed 
in  one  branch  of  labor,  and,  when  his  task  is  done, 
another  is  given  him  ;  each  slave  has  his  particu 
lar  trade  or  work,  and,  if  necessity  should  require 
him  to  suspend  it,  it  is  the  master  who  loses  his 
hire.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  the  Indians,  for, 
while  they  pursue  one  steady  occupation,  their 
wives  and  children  must  busy  themselves  in  as 
many  more  to  fulfil  the  obligations  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  corregidors. 

The  repartition  of  mules  is  attended  with  so 
much  rigor  that  it  seems  as  if  one  must  be  forsa 
ken  of  God  to  be  capable  of  such  flagrant  injus 
tice  ;  and,  to  make  this  still  more  evident,  we 
shall  cite  one  of  those  examples  which  occur  con 
tinually,  having  been  ourselves  witnesses  of  it. 
In  the  year  1742,  while  on  our  way  a  second  time 
to  Lima,  at  the  request  of  the  viceroy,  we  arrived 
at  a  village  in  which  the  distribution  had  been  com 
pleted  the  day  previous,  and  of  this  distribution 
four  mules  had  been  allotted  to  the  owner  of  the 
house  where  we  had  taken  up  our  quarters  ;  the 
latter  would  not  receive  them,  neither  by  dint  of 
entreaties  nor  threats  made  by  the  corregidor ;  for 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  31 

he  apprehended  from  their  bad  condition  that  they 
would  die  without  having  rendered  him  any  ser 
vice.  He  differed  with  the  corregidor,  not  on  ac 
count  of  their  high  price,  although  they  were 
charged  at  forty-four  dollars  each,  but  on  account 
of  their  extreme  leanness,  begging  him  to  give  him 
good  mules  and  he  would  not  refuse  to  take  them, 
but  that  they  were  in  a  dying  condition,  and  that  it 
was  only  their  skin  that  would  be  of  any  value. 
Having  made  these  complaints,  he  returned  home, 
confident  that  he  should  obtain  others  in  their 
stead  ;  but  he  was  quite  mistaken  in  this,  for  that 
same  night  they  were  tied  to  his  gate  by  a  sheriff, 
who  told  him  from  without  that  he  had  left  the 
mules  there  by  order  of  the  corregidor.  His 
doors  being  closed,  he  did  not  take  the  precaution 
to  go  and  bring  them  in,  and  the  next  morning  he 
found  one  dead  ;  he  was  obliged,  however,  to  pay 
for  all  four.  This  occurs  frequently,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  animals  are  taken  from  the  pastures 
where  they  are  bred  while  they  are  young,  and, 
in  passing  over  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and 
more  leagues,  to  reach  the  different  departments, 
they  travel  through  climates  to  which  they  are  not 
accustomed,  and,  in  consequence  of  changing  their 
pastures,  many  of  them  become  sick  and  die  ;  and, 
that  the  loss  may  not  fall  upon  the  corregidor,  he 
makes  the  distribution  as  soon  as  they  arrive  in 
the  province,  and  compels  the  Indians  to  receive 


32  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO   PERU. 

them  in  that  state.  Were  this  purchase  voluntary 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  or  even  were  they  con 
tent  with  what  is  allotted  them,  there  would  be  no 
ground  of  complaint ;  but  that  they  should  be  com 
pelled  to  take  what  is  neither  useful  nor  to  their 
liking,  and  pay  for  it  so  exorbitantly,  appears  to  be 
the  highest  point  to  which  oppression  can  be 
carried. 

Passing  now  from  the  distribution  of  mules,  we 
shall  proceed  to  that  of  manufactures  and  produce, 
which  will  occasion  no  less  surprise  than  the  pre 
ceding.  We  have  already  remarked  that  articles 
of  manufacture  are  distributed  to  the  Indians  at 
prices  so  exorbitant  as  to  exceed  any  idea  that 
could  be  formed  of  it  by  any  other  than  an  eye 
witness,  and  this  will  be  corroborated  by  an  occur 
rence  which  took  place  in  a  town  not  far  distant 
from  Lima,  in  the  year  1743.  The  corregidor 
took  home,  among  other  articles,  some  woollen 
stuffs,  manufactured  in  Quito,  which  are  sold  by 
retail,  in  the  Lima  shops,  from  twenty-eight  to 
thirty  reals,  when  they  are  of  a  very  superior 
quality  ;  but  the  ordinary  woollens,  which  are  pur 
chased  for  the  supply  of  the  interior,  seldom  bring 
twenty-four  reals,  and  the  usual  price  by  whole 
sale  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty.  This  corregidor 
had  them  transported  forty  leagues  or  more  from 
Lima,  and  charged  them  to  the  Indians  at  such 
enormous  prices  that,  if  the  fact  were  not  notorious, 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.        33 

it  would  be  thought  incredible.  Although  the 
goods  had  been  purchased  at  very  advanced  prices, 
on  a  credit  of  two  years  and  a  half,  the  whole 
value  of  the  articles  distributed  amounted  to  seventy 
thousand  dollars  ;  and  after  all  the  returns  had 
been  made  by  the  Indians,  the  amount  which  the 
corregidor  had  realized  from  them  exceeded  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  Indians  of  this  department,  finding  them 
selves  more  cruelly  oppressed  by  this  corregidor 
than  they  had  been  by  his  predecessor,  entered  a 
complaint  before  the  viceroy,  taking  to  him  samples 
of  the  distribution,  with  a  list  of  the  prices  affixed  to 
each  article.  We  do  not  relate  this  as  a  matter 
of  hearsay,  for  we  happened  to  be  present  when 
the  Indians  entered  their  protest.  The  viceroy 
listened  to  them,  and  directed  them  to  lay  the  sub 
ject  before  the  Audience  ;  and  the  result  was,  that 
a  writ  was  executed  to  have  the  Indians  taken 
and  punished  as  seditious  persons.  The  fact  was, 
that  as  soon  as  the  mayor  learned  that  those 
Indians  had  disappeared  from  within  his  jurisdic 
tion,  entertaining  no  doubt  that  they  had  gone  to 
enter  a  complaint  against  him,  he  indicted  them 
for  sedition,  and  set  forth  in  the  indictment  that 
they  had  absented  themselves  from  fear  of  punish 
ment.  This  summary  he  immediately  remitted  to 
the  Audience,  at  the  same  time  seeking  to  interest 
the  friends  he  had  in  that  city  in  the  business,  and 


34  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

through  their  influence  he  succeeded  in  acquitting 
himself  of  the  charges  made  against  him,  becom 
ing  in  his  turn  the  accuser,  in  order  not  only  to 
rob  the  Indians  of  their  rights,  but  also  to  intimi 
date  them,  that  they  might  not  venture  to  make  a 
complaint  against  him  in  future. 

The  cruelty  of  the  system  of  distribution  is  not 
confined  to  the  enormous  prices  at  which  the  In 
dians  are  obliged  to  purchase,  but  is  even  much 
greater  in  respect  to  the  articles  distributed,  which 
usually  consist  of  goods  that  are  of  no  use  to  the 
purchaser.  In  Spain,  we  are  wont  to  speak  of 
this  as  partaking  more  of  fiction  than  of  truth, 
nor  are  we  accurately  informed  of  what  takes 
place  there,  as  the  communications  reach  us  in 
a  diminished  shape,  and  the  fear  of  having  them 
regarded  as  improbable  curtails  them,  and  gives 
them  another  coloring,  by  confining  them  to  gen 
eralities  ;  but  to  make  it  evident,  that  what  the 
corregidors  do  there  exceeds  what  we  have  any 
account  of  here,  it  will  be  proper  to  describe  in 
detail  the  method  used  by  them  to  furnish  them 
selves  with  the  goods  which  they  need  for  distribu 
tion.  It  is  well  known  that  a  corregidor  who  goes 
to  the  shop  of  a  tradesman,  whom  he  does  not 
know  except  by  having  heard  his  name,  (while  the 
latter  does  not  know  the  former,  except  as  corregi 
dor  of  such  a  department,  who  is  going  to  purchase 
on  credit,  for  want  of  money,)  is  compelled  to 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  35 

receive  whatever  is  given  him,  which  is  usually 
the  most  unsalable  part  of  his  stock,  and  it  is  per 
haps  with  a  view  to  rid  himself  of  such  trash  that 
he  runs  the  risk  of  letting  him  take  it  on  credit ;  but, 
although  the  dealer  offer  him  the  goods  as  he  would 
on  condition  of  payment  in  ready  money,  he  is 
still  obliged  to  receive  an  assortment  of  all  he  has 
in  his  shop,  as  it  does  not  stand  the  dealer  in  ac 
count  to  have  him  purchase  only  the  most  salable 
articles,  and  it  has  hence  become  customary,  in 
making  large  purchases,  to  take  an  assortment  of 
the  whole  stock. 

So  much  being  premised,  the  corregidor  receives 
a  part  of  all  which  the  dealer  has  for  sale,  takes  it 
to  his  department,  and  distributes  it  collectively,  as 
it  is  not  to  be  supposed  he  would  lose  those  things 
which  are  useless  to  the  Indians.  Of  what  pos 
sible  service  can  three  quarters  or  a  yard  of  velvet, 
at  forty  or  fifty  dollars,  be  to  one  of  those  serfs, 
who  might  be  compared  to  the  most  clownish  and 
wretched  peasants  of  Spain,  and  who  is  employed 
in  digging  the  ground,  or  travelling  on  foot  behind 
his  master's  mule  to  earn  a  day's  wages,  which 
scarcely  suffice  for  his  bare  wants  ?  And  of  what 
value  to  him  would  be  a  similar  amount  of  silk  or 
satin  ?  What  use  could  he  make  of  a  pair  of  silk 
stockings,  when  he  would  thank  God  if  he  could 
be  allowed  woollen  ones,  even  of  the  coarsest 
texture  ?  What  occasion  has  an  Indian  for  mir- 


Jj  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

rors,  whose  hut  is  the  abode  of  poverty,  and  in 
which  nothing  hut  smoke  is  visible  ?  How  can  he 
be  in  want  of  a  padlock,  if,  even  when  all  his 
family  are  absent,  by  simply  turning  a  door  made 
of  reeds  or  skins,  he  protects  a  habitation  whose 
jewels  are  safe,  because  they  are  of  no  value  r 
But  even  this  could  be  passed  over,  in  comparison 
of  what  is  more  worthy  of  notice.  The  Indians, 
by  their  peculiar  constitution,  are  wholly  destitute 
of  beard,  nor  do  they  ever  shave  their  hair  ;  and 
yet  they  are  furnished  with  razors,  for  which  they 
pay  a  very  handsome  price.  Surely  this  looks 
like  making  sport  of  that  unfortunate  race.  And 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  practice  of  compelling 
them  to  buy  pens  and  blank  paper,  when  the 
greater  part  do  not  understand  Spanish,  and  when 
their  own  language  has  never  been  reduced  to 
writing  ?  Playing-cards,  likewise,  are  distributed 
for  their  use,  when  they  do  not  even  know  their 
figures,  nor  has  that  people  any  inclination  for 
gambling ;  as  also  cases  for  tobacco,  when  the 
instance  is  not  known  of  any  one  who  has  ever  used 
them.  Not  to  burden  the  narrative  with  details,  we 
shall  pass  over  the  combs,  rings,  buttons,  books, 
plays,  lace,  ribbon,  and  such  like,  as  useless  for 
them  as  the  foregoing,  and  it  will  suffice  to  say 
that  the  only  things  which  are  of  service  to  them 
are  confined  to  the  cotton  cloth,  manufactured  in 
Quito,  woollen  stuffs,  or  trousers,  baize,  and  hats, 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  37 

all  of  domestic  manufacture  ;  all  the  rest,  whether 
they  be  fabrics,  hardware,  or  other  commodities  of 
Europe,  are  utterly  valueless  to  them,  although 
they  are  made  to  pay  for  them  at  exorbitant 
prices. 

There  are  some  districts  where  domestic  produce 
is  distributed,  and  this  is  done  in  those  which  afford 
the  greatest  facilities  for  it.  The  articles  furnished 
them  are  demijohns  of  wine,  brandy,  olives,  and 
oil,  most  of  which  the  Indians  never  consume,  nor 
even  taste  of;  hence,  when  they  receive  a  bottle 
of  brandy,  which  is  charged  to  them  at  the  rate  of 
seventy  or  eighty  dollars,  they  go  in  search  of 
some  mestizo  or  grocer,  who  will  buy  it  of  them, 
and  they  think  themselves  fortunate  if  they  can  get 
ten  or  twelve  dollars  for  it.  They  do  the  same 
with  every  other  article,  when  despair  and  indig 
nation  are  mitigated  by  a  sense  of  sorrow,  and 
they  are  restrained  from  throwing  it  down  and  dash 
ing  it  to  pieces. 

This  oppressive  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the 
corregidors  was  the  occasion  of  the  insurrection  of 
the  Chunchos,  who  renounced  their  allegiance  to 
the  king,  and,  possessing  themselves  of  the  tract 
of  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Tarma  and  Jauja,  east 
of  the  chain  of  the  Andes,  have  made  war  upon  the 
Spaniards  ever  since  the  year  174*2,  nor  have  they 
been  able  as  yet  entirely  to  quell  the  insurrection  ; 
and  these  are  the  tyrannical  measures  which  their 
4 


38  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

leader  assured  them  he  would  reform,  by  withdraw 
ing  them  from  under  the  Spanish  yoke.  It  was 
this  which  so  much  alarmed  the  viceroy,  who  was 
apprehensive  lest  the  whole  province  of  Tarma 
should  take  part  with  the  rebels,  to  extricate  them 
selves  from  a  state  of  bondage,  which  was  becom 
ing  every  day  more  intolerable  ;  and  it  was  fully 
ascertained  that  many  Indian  families  deserted 
their  villages,  and  retired  to  the  grounds  occupied 
by  the  Chunchos,  to  follow  a  party  which  had 
made  a  beginning  under  such  favorable  auspices, 
having  become  the  terror  of  their  oppressors. 

Another  instance  occurred  in  those  provinces 
very  much  like  the  preceding ;  and  although  dis 
tinct  in  its  results,  it  serves  to  show  how  little  their 
complaints  are  regarded,  and  how  much  they  suffer 
from  tyranny.  In  one  of  the  provinces,  not  yet 
burdened  with  the  distribution  system,  inasmuch  as 
it  had  but  recently  submitted  to  the  Spanish  author 
ities,  the  inhabitants,  acquainted  with  what  was 
taking  place  in  towns  where  it  was  practised,  had 
refused  to  admit  it,  although  some  corregidors  had 
attempted  to  introduce  it.  It  fell,  at  length,  into 
the  hands  of  a  more  determined  and  adventurous 
individual  than  any  of  his  predecessors  had  been, 
owing  perhaps  to  the  favor  of  the  principal  magis 
trates  in  the  capital.  This  man,  together  with  the 
curate,  —  whose  interest  it  was  to  bargain  with  the 
corregidor,  —  determined  to  introduce  the  system 


y 

SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  39 

into  his  district,  and,  being  aware  that  the  Indians 
would  make  resistance,  invented  a  scheme  fitted  to 
secure  his  object.  A  number  of  Spaniards  used 
to  pass  through  his  district,  to  whom,  for  selfish 
ends,  he  had  made  himself  very  obsequious ;  and, 
having  detained  in  his  house  those  whom  he  needed 
for  the  occasion,  under  pretence  of  enjoying  their 
society,  he  summoned  the  chiefs  and  magistrates 
of  the  villages  to  meet  him  on  a  day  appointed, 
with  a  view  to  adopt  some  more  expeditious  method 
of  collecting  the  tribute  money  of  the  Indians,  in 
timating  that  it  was  his  wish  to  render  their  burdens 
as  light  as  possible.  The  chiefs  entertained  no 
suspicion,  and  met  accordingly  in  the  principal  vil 
lage,  where  the  corregidor  had  the  Spaniards,  his 
guests,  in  readiness,  to  whom  he  had  made  a  false 
accusation  concerning  these  Indians,  stating  that 
they  were  so  fierce  and  incorrigible  that,  besides  hav 
ing  attempted  an  insurrection  on  various  occasions, 
they  had  formed  an  extensive  conspiracy  to  take 
away  his  life,  and  the  lives  of  all  the  curates  and 
Spaniards  they  could  meet  with.  The  guests  lis 
tened  to  him  with  credulity,  and  promised  to  assist 
him  with  their  persons  and  arms. 

The  hour  of  the  summons  being  come,  the  cor 
regidor  gave  notice  to  the  Spaniards  to  conceal 
themselves  in  the  most  remote  corner  of  the  house, 
apprising  them  that,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  they 
should  sally  forth  and  fall  upon  the  Indians,  and 


40  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

make  them  prisoners.  The  chiefs,  alcaldes,  and 
other  magistrates  of  that  district  presented  them 
selves  at  the  corregidor's  with  great  promptness 
and  ohedience,  and  when  the  latter  observed  them 
all  assembled,  he  gave  the  signal,  and  instantly  the 
Spaniards,  their  servants,  and  some  mestizoes  of 
that  village,  rushed  forth  and  made  them  all  pris 
oners,  without  meeting  the  slightest  resistance,  as 
they  were  confounded  by  this  sudden  and  unlooked- 
for  occurrence.  After  they  had  been  properly 
secured,  he  entered  a  suit  against  them  as  disturb 
ers  of  the  peace,  and  alleged  that,  being  the  magis 
trates  of  the  towns,  they  had  stirred  up  the  Indians 
to  mutiny,  by  persuading  them  to  revolt  and  refuse 
obedience  to  the  king,  and  he  despatched  them 
very  soon  after  to  Lima,  loaded  with  irons.  The 
Audience  investigated  the  case,  and,  although  it 
was  universally  known  that  every  article  contained 
in  the  indictment  was  false,  the  chiefs,  and  those 
who  had  been  taken  with  them,  were  sentenced  to 
hard  labor  in  the  king's  quarries,  some  on  the 
Island  of  St.  Lawrence,  others  at  Callao,  and  others 
in  Valdivia.  This  unjust  exile  and  chastisement 
of  the  most  respectable  individuals  of  that  district 
filled  the  remaining  Indians  with  fear  and  terror  ; 
and  the  corregidor,  able  now  to  effect  whatever  his 
caprice  suggested,  entered  upon  the  distribution, 
which  was  at  once  the  object  of  his  desire  and  the 
reward  of  his  iniquity. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  41 

This  circumstance  was  so  well  known  in  Lima 
that  no  reasonable  man  could  fail  to  express  his 
horror  of  it ;  and  although  the  notoriety  of  the  fact 
and  the  opinion  of  impartial  persons  were  suffi 
cient  to  warrant  its  perfect  credibility,  we  should 
not  venture  to  record  it,  had  it  not  been  communi 
cated  to  us  by  an  individual  personally  known  to 
us,  and  a  man  of  undoubted  veracity,  and  who 
was  present  in  the  house,  lending  aid  to  the  cor- 
regidor,  and  whose  account  agrees  in  every  par 
ticular  with  that  which  we  heard  from  the  lips  of 
the  unfortunate  chiefs,  at  the  time  we  were  super 
intending  the  public  works  of 'that  fortress,  where 
we  saw  them  employed  as  galley  slaves. 

The  individual  who  gave  us  the  information,  and 
who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  occurrence,  was  a 
Frenchman,  engaged  in  commerce  in  that  district, 
and,  as  he  had  made  many  journeys  thereabouts, 
and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  corregidor,  he 
was  fully  aware  that  the  pretext  used  for  seizing 
the  Indians  was  false,  and  that  the  result  was  un 
warrantable  as  well  as  villanous.  But,  as  he  has 
said  himself,  he  had  occasion  to  humor  him,  lest, 
by  seeking  a  quarrel  against  him,  he  should  throw 
obstacles  in  his  way  whenever  he  had  occasion  to 
travel  in  that  direction.  This  made  it  necessary 
for  him  to  unite  with  the  Spaniards  who  were 
present  on  that  occasion,  although  no  one  was 
ignorant  that  the  whole  process  was  utterly  false, 
4* 


I'  I  .\l-l.ini  ION    TO    I'M  It  U. 

ninl  \va:i  conii  i\  ri|  hy  ihe   cniTn^idor   (or   no  other 

|'||||M,  ..'  ll,.n,  In  dll\e  ||,e  hull., II  .  I, hi,  CIMIII  Ins 
di-.liici,  (I,,,!  ||,,.  ,,-  .1  Qflighl  nol  i,  .1  .!  ||,r  1,,-w  iiu- 
i  i  III''  tat  I'/-".  .  Ill,  MI  ,  |\,  )  and  (,|hc|-  llih.lh- 

ll.ilil  •   1.1'    tin-    luuil    li.nl    IMlimal'   d    In    Imil. 

No    NOUN    li:nl     1 1 10    (JOriVgiili.r    commenced     ||,,. 
<li •.InliuliMiiH    tlmn    ho    dCNtillcd    u    |.:irl    •.!'   Ihc    hi 

<ll.Hl,    In     l.lliur     III     tin-     (",old    \\.i     Inn",     of    ||,;i|    |i|-(iV- 

ilJCO,  llcil   Ilii-y   nii-'Jil    |i;iy   lint    r.oHt    oC  lh(j    nrln-li-M 

ill     I  I  ihiilcil      in      lh.il      llM-l.ll.        'I'll-      ••      i'i.|i|     \\  ,i     Inn"   i 

li.nl     IKWOf     ln'i-ll     llioii"hl    \.ilu.ihlr,     iVniil     llr 

lli.i!     lliry    \M   !<•    •  ilu.il.-il    in    h. irn  n     In  ;ilh  .,   ii'liuili- 

IK. in  .ins  io\\  n  or  \  ill.'"--,  .-uiii  I-XJM,  ...I  in  emb&r* 
r.i  in.  n!  i  :u i  .in"  IM.IM  ,  \n  livo  mill  .m.i  extn  i,,.- 

in., i  tUM  ;  ;unl,  u  h;il  i  .  nioiv  than  all,  llic  .|iian!ilv 
n!  'M,|,|  i.lilaini  .1  al  llic  c.,  ,|  of  M,  much  l.ih', 

vory  iiK-oiiM'l'  i.ihl-  .     At  tlm  NUIIIO  lime,  lie  hud 

«nli.  i  .  cni|.l.ivcil  in  Mi|'|'l\  MI"  linn  \\iih  lur^u  and 

:. in. Jl  .Mill.-  l"i  I!P  c.in  iiinpl  mil  ill'  a  n>'i"hhiii  in" 
city,  win  n  he  hail  i-nli-icil  into  conlracl  <  ;  ami  !«• 
c..ni|,l\  \\  ilh  tin-in,  he  dink  ihc  calll.-  IM.IU  ihc  In- 
il  a  |,. ill  i  y  |iricc,  lh. n  hy  d.-|n  i\  in;1  them  of 
an  i>|i|nii  InnilN  l<>  ••  II  them  on  tin  ir  o\\  u  aco  ninl, 
oilhor  in  lln-  ''iiv  or  \\nhoiit  Icavin;-,  tin  i r  IKHINOM, 

to    jiiii.  ha    .  a   .   \\  In,     nii-'hl     |'o  ||     n|'    lh.  in, 

nii.l  \\ho  wonlil  |,.i\  lln  priCQ  lli('\  hail  iruinlly 
(Icni.-iii.l.  .!  l>\  lh.  ..•  in.  an  he  IICHMII  l<>  •  liail.  n 
lliciu  in  such  M  il. -"ii  .-  ihai  iln  \  \\crc  reduced  In 
llic  in,,, I  d<  pl.nahle  C(Midllioli. 


HECBET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  43 

This  is  the  kind  of  gov«  i  HUM -nt.  maintained  \,\ 
ili«-  i  -orregidors  in  those  kingdoms;  in  ilu--.  <  -nd  .-ill 
their  ell'orts  arc  din -rli-d  ;  ii'ir  li:i  >  their  sysiMii  of 
economy  any  oih<  r  <>\>\<  <:t  than  to  secure  tho  great 
est  possible  incom<-  from  their  ollire.  Even  if 
these  statement  i  \\«  ie  not  J.H  •  ni<-d  in  proof  of 
their  avarice,  n  mi^ht  l>»t  iul<  IK  d  from  ilf 
M'|-  ratHHi  thai  all  •»!'  ihcm  «»«i  froi/i  Sjcnn  to  lln: 
Indies  so  destitute  thut,  m  M  ad  ' 
thin^  tliilh'-r,  th':y  ar»:  in  d<  bt  on  ;n:c.<,\nil  <>l  ohh- 
^atioiis  conirachid  from  the  time  they  leave  Spain 
until  they  reaeh  ilu:  di^lri'-l  allotted  to  them  ;  and 
that,  during  their  brief  term  of  office,  which  is 
I  united  to  five  years,  they  make  a  tf'iin  of  at  |i-;r«t 
:  <  v<  niy  ihon-aml  dollars,  and  sometimes  accumu 
late  even  more  than  two  hundred  thousand.  I 
is  to  he  Understood  of  the  n'-t  jH<-)! 
jiaid  th'-n-  ;  di-lit1.  and  f.  <  «,l 

and  after  having  spent  and  wjuandci'  'I  lx  ;.  "nd  all 
hounds  during  tlie-  whole  t«:rm  of  their  administra 
tion ;  for  the  salary  and  emoluments  of  their  office 
are  so  scanty  as  to  be  almost  inndnjuato  for  their 
current  expenses.  There  are,  indeed,  corregidors 
whose  salary,  including  the  collection  of  the  inl>- 
Utc,  amounts  to  live  thoir-and  dollars  a 

year;  yet  the  greater  part  do  not  reah/,« 
than  two  thousand  ;  and,  although   it   were  based 
upon  an  allowance  of  four  thousand  dollars  annu 
ally,  thw  salary  would  only  suffice   for  a  decent 


44  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

maintenance,  allowing  a  surplus  of  one  half  by 
living  with  economy.  It  is  true  they  have  occa 
sion  to  pass  from  one  settlement  to  another ;  but 
this  is  at  the  expense  of  the  Indians  themselves, 
who  furnish  them  mules  and  pay  their  travelling 
expenses  during  the  time  they  are  delayed  in  each 
village. 

Having  closed  our  observations  on  the  cruel 
treatment  of  the  Indians  by  their  corregidors,  we 
shall  describe  incidentally  the  manner  in  which 
the  latter  render  an  account  of  their  adminis 
tration  at  the  expiration  of  its  term,  clearly 
showing  that  this  unfortunate  race  are  left  with 
out  appeal,  and  even  without  a  hope  that  justice 
should  ever  enter  their  doors  to  plead  in  their 
behalf. 

The  office  of  corregidor  is  sometimes  in  the 
gift  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  and  sometimes 
in  that  of  the  viceroys ;  but  it  is  the  exclusive  pre 
rogative  of  the  viceroys  to  nominate  notaries 
when  the  term  of  administration  has  expired,  and 
no  successor  to  the  office  has  been  elected  in 
Spain ;  and  even  in  this  event  the  notary  named 
by  the  council  must  present  his  despatches  to  the 
viceroy  in  order  to  obtain  his  passport.  As  soon 
as  the  appointment  of  a  notary  comes  to  the  ears 
of  the  corregidor,  he  avails  himself  of  his  friends 
in  Lima  to  pay  court  to  him  in  his  name,  and  to 
give  him  the  necessary  instructions,  that,  when  he 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  .45 

should  leave  the  city,  he  should  come,  already 
gained  over,  and  without  any  motive  for  delay.  It 
should  be  observed  that,  in  addition  to  the  usual 
pay  allowed  the  notary  at  the  expense  of  the  cor- 
regidor  for  a  term  of  three  months,  although  only 
forty  days  are  required  to  audit  the  accounts,  the 
amount  to  be  paid  is  in  proportion  to  the  revenue 
of  the  district,  or  more  properly  to  that  of  the 
amnesty  or  bribe  which  the  corregidor  gives  the 
notary  to  acquit  him  of  all  charges  which  may  be 
alleged  against  him.  This  is  so  notorious  and  so 
systematized  in  practice,  that  every  body  knows 
what  it  costs  to  audit  the  accounts  of  this  or  that 
district ;  at  the  same  time,  if  the  corregidor  has 
offended  his  Spanish  neighbors,  or  if  any  suspi 
cion  is  entertained  that  they  might  bring  in  evi 
dence  against  him,  the  price  is  raised  for  extra 
costs,  but  the  settlement  is  always  brought  about, 
and  the  corregidor  acquitted,  although  at  a  some 
what  increased  expense. 

As  soon  as  the  notary  arrives  in  the  principal 
town  of  his  district,  he  gives  public  notice  of  his 
business,  goes  through  the  usual  forms,  receiving 
testimony  from  the  friends  and  domestics  of  the 
corregidor  that  he  has  ruled  well,  that  he  has  in 
jured  no  man,  that  he  has  treated  the  Indians 
kindly,  and  in  this  way  he  collects  all  the  evidence 
which  may  redound  to  his  interest.  But  lest  such 
a  degree  of  rectitude  and  benevolence  might  ex- 


4(>  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

cite  surprise,  three  or  four  persons  are  employed 
to  present  charges  against  him  of  a  trivial  nature, 
which  are  magnified  by  summoning  witnesses  to 
testify  to  their  truth,  and  the  accused,  being 
brought  in  guilty,  is  fined  in  an  amount  propor 
tioned  to  the  nature  of  the  offence.  In  the  course 
of  these  proceedings,  an  immense  mass  of  writs 
and  documents  is  collected,  and  the  time  prescribed 
for  auditing  the  accounts  gradually  slips  away, 
when  they  are  closed  and  presented  to  the  Audi 
ence  for  approbation,  and  the  corregidor  is  as 
legally  innocent  of  the  charges  as  he  was  at  the 
time  his  administration  commenced,  and  the  no 
tary  who  audited  the  accounts  is  a  gainer  to  the 
amount  of  what  the  settlement  has  been  worth  to 
him.  These  bargains  are  made  with  such  effron 
tery,  and  the  costs  of  settlement  of  accounts  are 
so  reduced  to  system,  that,  in  the  jurisdiction  of 
Valdivia,  a  district  remote  from  all  intercourse 
with  those  kingdoms,  the  newly-appointed  gov 
ernors  audit  the  accounts  of  their  predecessors ; 
and,  as  the  gratuity  bestowed  is  transmitted  from 
one  to  another  in  succession,  the  governors  had 
the  precaution  to  reserve  and  conceal  under  the 
bed  on  which  they  slept  four  bags  of  money,  con 
taining  each  one  thousand  dollars  —  an  amount 
which  none  of  them  had  occasion  to  use.  The 
acting  governor,  on  the  arrival  of  a  successor, 
invited  him  very  politely  to  occupy  his  own 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.        47 

apartment,  and,  on  showing  him  to  his  room,  he 
directed  his  attention  to  the  bags  of  money,  assur 
ing  him  that  no  mistake  could  occur  in  the  amount, 
as  he  had  not  opened  the  bags ;  he  stated,  more 
over,  that  his  predecessor  had  received  his  dis 
charge  for  that  sum,  and  that  he  would  transfer  it 
to  him  on  the  same  terms.  This  mode  was  prac 
tised  until  after  we  had  left  that  kingdom,  as 
was  said  by  the  residents  there ;  but  we  do  not 
know  if  it  still  continues.  Whether  the  four  bags 
remain  untouched  or  not,  after  having  changed 
owners  so  frequently,  is  of  little  importance,  pro 
vided  their  nominal  value  remains  unchanged. 

If,  at  the  time  the  judge  is  investigating  the 
proceedings  of  the  corregidors,  any  one  of  the 
Indians  should  allege  against  them  acts  of  tyranny 
and  injustice  which  they  have  committed,  the  judges 
either  repel  the  charge  by  advising  them  not  to 
involve  themselves  in  lawsuits,  which  will  bring 
on  them  disagreeable  results,  because  the  corregi- 
dor  has  proved  the  reverse  of  all  they  have 
alleged,  or  the  corregidor,  by  giving  them  a  trifling 
sum  of  money,  just  as  we  would  hush  a  trouble 
some  child,  induces  them  to  withdraw  the  com 
plaint  ;  but  if  the  Indians  refuse  to  receive 
money,  and  insist  on  demanding  justice,  the  judge 
reproves  them  with  severity,  intimating  to  them 
that  he  has  shown  them  too  much  lenity  in  not 
having  inflicted  chastisement  upon  them  for  the 


48  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

crimes  alleged  against  them  by  the  corregidor; 
and  the  judges  themselves,  assuming  the  office 
of  mediators,  persuade  them,  after  having  suffered 
such  complicated  abuse,  that  they  are  indebted  to 
them  for  having  escaped  the  punishment  they  de 
serve  ;  so  that  it  is  the  same  to  the  Indians  whether 
the  corregidors  are  required  or  not  to  give  an 
account  of  their  administration. 

If  the  charges  are  adduced  by  the  Spaniards 
relative  to  other  matters,  the  judge  seeks  to  act 
as  umpire,  and  urges  them  to  settle  their  differ 
ences  amicably,  and  forget  injuries  that  are  past ; 
but  if  this  method  fails,  the  suit  goes  on,  and,  as 
the  judge  is  biased  in  favor  of  the  corregidor, 
he  always  labors  to  acquit  him ;  and  if  he  cannot 
do  it  by  himself,  he  appeals  to  the  Audience  ;  and 
as  all  his  investigations  are  so  arranged  as  to  pre 
sent  the  best  evidence  in  his  favor,  a  little  exertion 
on  his  part  is  quite  sufficient  to  have  the  corregi 
dor  acquitted,  and  his  accounts  settled  agreeably 
to  his  wishes.  In  proof  of  this  we  have  only  to 
examine  the  penalties  inflicted  for  such  long-con 
tinued  excesses,  and  scarcely  one  will  be  found  ; 
hence  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  no  occasion 
for  imposing  them  exists  according  to  the  accounts 
rendered,  while  there  is  so  much  to  warrant  them 
in  the  conduct  of  those  corregidors,  as  has  already 
been  shown,  and  as  will  further  appear  in  the  fol 
lowing  chapter. 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  same  Subject  continued. 

WITHOUT  supposing  facts  not  well  ascertained, 
or  exaggerating  statements  which  might  place  our 
narrative  heyond  the  bounds  of  truth,  we  may 
assert,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  all  the 
wealth  produced  by  the  Indies,  and  even  their  very 
colonial  existence,  is  due  to  the  sweat  and  toil  of 
the  natives ;  it  is  by  them  the  gold  and  silver 
mines  are  wrought,  by  them  the  soil  is  tilled,  and 
by  them  the  cattle  are  reared  and  tended  ;  in  a 
word,  there  is  no  servile  labor  in  which  they  are 
not  tasked  ;  and  such  is  the  recompense  awarded 
to  them  by  the  Spaniards,  that,  should  we  investi 
gate  the  nature  of  it,  it  would  be  found  to  be  noth 
ing  more  than  a  protracted  and  unrelenting  pun 
ishment,  less  restrained  by  pity  than  that  inflicted 
upon  a  galley  slave.  The  gold  and  silver  acquired 
by  their  hardships  and  labor  never  lodges  in  their 
hands ;  rarely  does  the  day  come  round  which 
allows  them  to  partake  of  the  fruits  the  earth 
yields  by  dint  of  their  efforts,  or  of  the  meat  of 
5 


50  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  animals  they  rear  and  keep  ;  and  never  does 
the  occasion  offer  when  they  might  use  the  warm 
clothing  or  convenient  articles  of  manufacture  in 
troduced  from  Spain ;  since  their  whole  mainte 
nance  consists  of  maize  and  herbs  which  grow 
wild,  and  their  whole  scanty  wardrobe  is  limited 
to  the  coarse  fabrics  woven  by  their  wives,  and 
which  are  not  superior  to  such  as  they  wore  in 
their  uncivilized  condition.  Religion  itself,  as  we 
shall  afterwards  show,  is  made  a  plausible  pretext 
for  stripping  them  of  the  poor  remnant  of  their 
fortune,  which  has  escaped  the  rapaciousness  of 
their  masters  and  magistrates,  in  return  for  which 
they  have  imparted  to  them  no  spiritual  benefit, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  not  the  spirit  of  religion  which  is 
taught  them,  nor  is  any  thing  of  Christian  appli 
cable  to  them  but  the  empty  name.  In  short,  it  is 
evident,  wherever  we  turn,  that  the  whole  produce 
of  the  Indies  is  the  fruit  of  their  labor,  being  con 
tributed  by  them,  while  it  is  they  who  least  enjoy 
it,  and  who  derive  the  least  considerable  benefit 
from  their  incessant  toil. 

In  order  to  form  a  correct  judgment,  both  of 
what  we  have  already  stated  and  of  what  remains 
to  be  said,  it  is  necessary  to  observe  that  the  mode 
of  life  and  the  labors  of  the  Indians  are  adapted 
to  the  nature  of  the  districts  ;  for  in  those  where 
there  are  mines  to  be  worked,  and  not  plantations, 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  51 

a  portion  of  the  Indians  perform  the  meta  service, 
and  in  those  which  embrace  both  plantations  and 
mines,  a  part  of  the  Indians  are  reserved  alter 
nately  for  each  species  of  labor.  The  meta  In 
dians  are  drawn  by  lot  for  both  purposes,  the  one 
to  bring  the  minerals  from  the  veins,  and  the  other 
to  plough  and  till  the  ground.  The  districts  which 
comprise  only  plantations  and  workshops  (by 
which  are  meant  cotton  manufactories)  are  those 
in  which  all  the  meta  Indians  are  employed  ;  and 
there  are  some  districts  where  the  Indians  do  not 
perform  the  service  of  the  meta,  because  the  plan 
tations  are  cultivated  by  negro  slaves. 

The  meta  service  prescribes  that  all  the  villages 
are  to  furnish  the  estates  within  their  precincts  a 
certain  number  of  Indians,  to  be  employed  in  cul 
tivating  them,  and  that  another  company  be  destined 
for  the  mines,  when  their  owners  find,  on  examina 
tion,  that  they  can  be  worked  more  conveniently 
by  adopting  the  method  prescribed  by  the  meta. 
These  Indians  were  bound  to  perform  this  service 
for  one  year  only,  and  at  the  close  of  it  are  allowed 
to  return  to  their  villages,  where,  their  places  being 
filled  by  others,  they  are  to  remain  at  liberty,  until 
their  turn  comes  again  in  course.  But  this  prece 
dent,  so  wisely  established  by  the  laws,  has  ceased 
to  be  observed,  on  which  account  it  is  indifferent 
to  the  Indian  whether  he  labor  in  the  meta  service, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  miner,  or  as  nominally  free 


52  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

for  that  of  the  corregidor,  for  in  each  species  of 
labor  the  bondage  is  the  same.  All  the  districts 
of  Quito,  and  those  which  extend  to  the  other 
mountainous  provinces  of  Peru,  towards  the  south, 
practise  the  meta,  and  all  those  comprehended  in 
the  valleys  as  far  as  the  jurisdictions  of  Pisco  and 
Nasca  do  not  adopt  it,  because  no  miners  are 
found  there,  and  all  or  nearly  all  the  plantations 
situated  in  the  valleys  are  cultivated  by  negro 
slaves,  but  those  which  rise  from  the  valleys  are 
tilled  exclusively  by  Indians  subject  to  the  meta. 
Having  premised  so  much,  we  will  relate  what  oc 
curs  in  Quito,  from  which  we  may  deduce  by  com 
parison  what  takes  place  in  all  the  others  in  which 
the  same  system  obtains ;  and,  to  do  it  more 
methodically,  we  shall  divide  the  estates  into  four 
different  classes  :  1.  The  plantations  for  growing 
bread-stuffs ;  2.  The  grazing  estates  ;  3.  The 
wool-growing  estates  ;  4.  The  manufactories. 

On  the  estates  of  the  first  class,  a  meta  Indian 
earns  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  dollars  a  year,  ac 
cording  to  the  nature  of  his  employment ;  and  be 
sides  this,  the  estate  allows  him  a  piece  of  ground 
from  twenty  to  thirty  yards  square,  to  make  a  gar 
den  for  himself.  On  these  conditions,  the  Indian 
is  bound  to  labor  three  hundred  days  in  the  year, 
completing  his  full  daily  task,  and  is  exempted 
from  labor  the  remaining  sixty-five,  on  account  of 
Sundays,  holidays,  illness,  or  any  other  casualty 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  53 

which  may  prevent  him  from  working,  the  over 
seers  of  the  plantations  taking  care  to  mark,  every 
week,  the  number  of  days  which  each  Indian  has 
labored,  in  order  to  settle  his  account  at  the  end 
of  the  year. 

The  tribute  of  eight  dollars,  paid  by  the  owner 
of  the  estate,  is  to  be  deducted  from  the  salary  of 
the  Indian  ;  and  estimating  this  at  eighteen  dollars, 
which  is  the  maximum,  there  are  ten  dollars  re 
maining.  From  this  sum,  two  dollars  and  two 
reals  are  to  be  deducted,  to  buy  three  yards  of 
baize,  at  six  reals  a  yard,  that  he  may  make  a 
shirt  for  himself,  as  decency  requires,  and  he 
will  have  remaining  seven  dollars  six  reals,  to 
maintain  himself  and  his  wife  and  children,  if  he 
have  any,  besides  clothing  them  and  paying  such 
contributions  as  the  curate  may  levy  upon  him. 
Nor  is  this  all,  for  the  piece  of  ground  allowed  him 
is  so  confined  that  it  becomes  impossible  for  him  to 
raise  all  the  corn  required  for  the  scanty  support 
of  his  family,  and  he  is  obliged  to  receive  of  the 
owner  of  the  estate  half  a  bushel  of  corn  monthly, 
which  is  charged  to  him  at  six  reals,  (which  is 
double  the  usual  price,)  because  the  Indian  cannot 
purchase  of  any  one  else  ;  thus  twelve  times  six 
reals  make  nine  dollars,  which  is  one  dollar  and 
six  reals  more  than  the  Indian  can  earn  ;  so  that  the 
wretched  serf,  after  toiling  three  hundred  days  in 

the  year,  besides  cultivating  a  garden  of  vegetables 
o 


54  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

in  the  remaining  sixty-five,  having  received  only  a 
coarse  baize  shirt  and  six  bushels  of  corn,  becomes 
indebted  to  his  master  one  dollar  and  six  reals,  on 
account  of  the  labor  he  has  to  perform  the  follow 
ing  year.  Were  it  no  more  than  this,  the  patient 
Indian  would  endure  it  all ;  but  his  sufferings  are 
yet  greater.  It  frequently  happens  (as  we  have 
witnessed)  that  an  animal  dies  in  the  paramo,  or 
heath  ;  the  master  has  it  brought  to  the  farm,  and, 
in  order  not  to  lose  its  value,  has  it  cut  in  pieces,  and 
distributes  it  to  the  Indians  at  so  much  a  pound  — 
a  price  which,  however  reasonable,  an  Indian  can 
not  pay,  and  hence  his  debt  is  augmented  by  being 
forced  to  receive  meat  which  is  unfit  to  be  eaten, 
owing  to  its  bad  condition,  and  which  he  is  conse 
quently  obliged  to  throw  to  the  dogs. 

If,  as  the  climax  of  misfortune,  the  unfortunate 
mitayo  should  lose  his  wife,  or  one  of  his  chil 
dren,  his  cup  of  anguish  is  full  when  he  reflects 
how  he  shall  pay  the  inexorable  fee  of  inter 
ment,  and  he  is  driven  to  enter  into  a  new  con 
tract  with  the  owner  of  the  estate,  to  furnish 
him  the  money  extorted  by  the  church.  If  he 
escapes  the  anguish  of  losing  any  of  his  family, 
the  curate  orders  him  to  celebrate  a  church  festival 
in  honor  of  the  Virgin,  or  one  of  the  saints,  and  he  is 
obliged  on  this  account  to  contract  a  new  debt ;  so 
that,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  his  debts,  exceed  his 
earnings,  while  he  has  neither  handled  money  nor 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  55 

got  in  his  possession  any  articles  of  value  what 
ever.  His  master  claims  the  right  of  his  person, 
obliges  him  to  continue  in  his  service  until  the  debt 
is  paid  ;  and  as  payment  can  never  be  made  by  the 
poor  Indian,  he  becomes  a  slave  for  life  ;  and,  in 
defiance  of  all  natural  and  national  law,  children 
are  required  to  pay,  by  their  personal  service,  the 
unavoidable  debts  of  their  parents. 

There  are  some  Indians  who  pay  a  heavier 
tribute  than  others,  and,  in  this  respect,  those  who 
belong  to  the  encomiendas  are  least  burdened  ;  but 
this  does  in  no  way  redound  to  the  advantage  of 
the  Indians,  as  it  should,  but  to  the  benefit  of  their 
masters ;  for  they  pay  them  less  for  the  meta  ser 
vice,  on  the  ground  that  they  are  partially  exempted 
from  paying  tribute,  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
royal  grant,  in  which  this  privilege  is  conceded  to 
the  patrons,  with  a  view  of  lightening  the  burden 
of  the  impost  levied  upon  the  Indians. 

Another  species  of  cruelty  is  inflicted  upon  that 
race,  which  would  be  deemed  barbarous  if  prac 
tised  upon  the  brute  creation.  When  an  unfruitful 
season  occurs,  and  corn  is  valued  at  three  or  four 
dollars,  all  produce  rises  in  the  same  proportion, 
but  the  mitayo  is  not  entitled  to  higher  wages  ; 
and  although  he  subsists  exclusively  upon  maize, 
the  landholders  will  not  furnish  it  to  him  at  twelve 
reals,  which  is  the  regular  price,  although  it  some 
times  produces  more  ;  and  the  wages  of  the  Indians 


56  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

not  being  adequate  to  pay  for  it  at  so  high  a  price, 
and  having  no  means  of  purchasing  it  except  such 
as  they  derive  from  their  personal  labor,  they  are 
deprived  of  sustenance,  because  their  masters  sell 
all  the  maize  in  the  villages,  to  convert  it  into 
money  —  a  cruel  expedient,  which  leaves  the 
helpless  Indian,  who  labors  in  their  houses  and  for 
them,  abandoned  without  mercy  to  perish  with 
hunger.  This  occurred  in  the  Province  of  Quito 
in  the  years  1743  and  1744,  during  our  residence 
there.  The  scarcity  of  maize  was  unprecedented, 
and  such  was  the  unfeeling  barbarity  of  the  mas 
ters  towards  the  Indians,  that  they  cut  off  the  usual 
supply  of  their  only  sustenance,  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  it  at  exorbitant  prices :  from  hence  re 
sulted  a  fearful  mortality  of  Indians  on  all  the 
estates,  besides  that  which  prevailed  in  all  the  vil 
lages,  many  of  which  were  nearly  depopulated. 

The  produce  of  the  vegetable  gardens  culti 
vated  by  the  Indians  is  limited  to  a  little  corn  and 
a  few  potatoes,  and  is  so  inconsiderable  that  they 
are  consumed  during  the  process  of  ripening. 
The  only  occasion  in  the  year  when  they  are 
allowed  to  taste  meat  is  when  some  animal  dies, 
and  is  taken  up  before  the  condors  and  vultures 
have  devoured  it.  We  may  conjecture  what  its 
quality  must  be,  since,  besides  the  circumstance  of 
the  animal  having  died  in  the  field,  it  has  usually 
so  bad  an  odor,  as  to  render  it  intolerable  ;  and  in 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  57 

this  case  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  master  is  carried 
to  such  an  extreme  as  to  force  it  upon  the  Indian, 
under  the  penalty  of  chastisement,  if  he  refuse  to 
receive  it. 

The  Indians  who  perform  the  meta  service  on 
the  grazing  estates,  which  are  those  of  the  second 
class,  usually  earn  somewhat  more  than  the  day 
laborer,  but  their  labor  is  also  greater.  On  these 
estates,  an  Indian  has  assigned  to  him  a  certain 
number  of  cows,  that  he  may  take  care  of  them 
and  of  their  milk.  He  is  to  make  the  number  of 
cheeses  usually  required  for  each  cow,  and  on  the 
last  day  of  every  week  they  are  delivered  to  the 
overseer,  who  receives  them  by  weight,  and  with 
such  rigid  scrupulousness  that  the  least  deficiency 
in  the  weight  required  is  charged  to  the  account  of 
the  Indian  —  a  manifestly  unjust  course  of  proceed 
ing,  for,  if  the  failure  of  milk  might  occasionally 
be  attributed  to  the  Indian,  it  proceeds  in  general 
from  the  quantity  and  quality  given  by  the  cows, 
which  is  not  always  uniform,  or  some  neglect 
might  occur,  allowing  the  calves  to  take  more 
than  their  usual  portion.  Exclusive  of  these 
causes,  which  are  independent  of  the  will  of  the 
Indians,  the  charges  against  them  augment  so  rap 
idly,  that,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  when  they 
have  worked  out  the  term  of  the  meta,  and  are  to 
be  released,  they  find  themselves  in  greater  bon 
dage  than  before ;  for,  as  they  have  not  the  means 


58        SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

of  paying  that  fictitious  debt,  they  are  compelled 
to  bind  themselves  to  protracted  service  on  the 
estate,  which,  in  these  circumstances,  is  their  last 
resource.  % 

It  may  be  argued  that  the  debts  incurred  by  the 
Indians,  whether  in  one  species  of  labor  or  another, 
are  merely  imaginary,  as  the  whole  race  is  in 
solvent,  and  that  no  injury  results  from  them.  In 
solitary  instances  it  might  be  so,  but  in  general  it 
is  otherwise.  It  is  prejudicial  to  the  Indian  to  be 
indebted  to  the  estate,  because  the  owner  of  it  de 
ducts,  on  account  of  the  debt,  all  that  he  has  been 
able  to  earn  by  dint  of  care  and  toil  during  his 
hours  of  repose,  and  if  payment  be  made  grudg 
ingly,  the  task  is  augmented,  even  when  no  hope 
is  entertained  that  the  debt  will  be  paid  in  full.  It 
is  true  that,  in  the  hopeless  condition  of  the  Indian, 
to  be  reduced  to  slavery  on  the  estates  where  they 
live  is  no  additional  burden ;  for  in  case  they 
should  be  restored  to  their  villages,  they  would  b0 
no  less  oppressed  by  the  imposts  of  the  corregidors. 
Were  it  otherwise,  it  would  be  gross  injustice  not 
to  alternate  their  labor  annually ;  for  while  living 
in  their  villages  they  would  enjoy  their  freedom, 
and  would  earn  enough  to  maintain  themselves 
comfortably,  whether  by  working  as  day  laborers, 
or  busying  themselves  in  the  same  tasks  in  which 
they  would  be  employed  if  they  remained  in  them  ; 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  their  gains  would  be 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  59 

sufficient  to  bear,  without  too  much  hardship,  both 
the  impost  of  the  tribute  and  the  meta,  but  they 
are  deprived  of  this  consolation  by  the  insatiable 
avarice  of  those  who  rule  over  them. 

On  the  wool-growing  estates,  which  compose 
those  of  the  third  order,  every  Indian  earns  eigh 
teen  dollars,  when  he  has  the  care  of  an  entire 
flock  ;  and  if  he  has  two  he  earns  something  more, 
but  not  twice  the  amount,  as  would  seem  equitable. 
Those  Indians  who  are  apparently  the  most  fortu 
nate,  are  not  less  subject  to  oppression  than  others, 
for  they  are  made  responsible  for  the  flock,  and 
are  accounted  debtors  for  all  the  sheep  that  are 
missing  at  the  end  of  the  month,  unless  they  de 
liver  them  dead.  At  first  sight  this  condition  ap 
pears  reasonable,  but,  in  reality,  local,  as  well  as 
other  causes  not  depending  on  the  Indian,  render 
it  impossible  for  him  to  put  it  in  practice.  The 
tracts  where  the  Indians  pasture  and  live  with  their 
flocks  are  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness, 
among  the  ravines  formed  by  the  mountains,  which 
are  wholly  uninhabited,  and  at  a  distance  of  three 
or  four  leagues  from  the  principal  farm-house. 
On  these  estates,  wheat  fields  are  also  cultivated, 
and  for  this  purpose  the  same  Indians  are  employed 
who  have  the  care  of  the  sheep  ;  and  being  under 
the  necessity  of  tilling  the  soil  for  the  benefit  of 
their  masters,  the  sheep  are  intrusted  to  the  care 
of  a  woman,  who  is  sometimes  nursing,  or  to  that 


60  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

of  children  five  or  six  years  old ;  for  as  soon  as 
the  latter  are  capable  of  doing  service,  they  are 
obliged  to  labor  for  the  benefit  of  the  master. 
Hence  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  sheep  sickens 
or  goes  astray  over  the  wild,  uncultivated  extent 
of  those  paramos  ;  and  should  he  be  so  unlucky  as 
not  to  be  able  to  find  it,  as  soon  as  it  is  missing,  it 
is  charged  to  his  account  at  the  close  of  the  month, 
when  the  flock  is  counted. 

Even  if  the  owner  should  not  require  him  to 
intrust  the  sheep  to  his  wife's  keeping,  it  would  be 
unjust  to  make  the  loss  fall  upon  him ;  for  it  is 
only  one  who  tends  the  sheep  ;  and  such  is  the 
nature  of  that  broken  surface,  that  it  would  be  im 
possible  to  trace  the  sheep  by  the  eye,  as  they 
wander  over  ravines,  morasses,  and  declivities  of 
the  mountains,  nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  the  keeper 
to  rescue  them  from  the  talons  of  the  condors. 
What  passed  under  my  own  observation  frequently 
takes  place ;  for,  on  one  occasion,  while  descend 
ing  a  precipice,  I  saw  a  condor  pounce  upon  a 
flock  and  carry  off  a  lamb  in  his  claws,  and,  rising 
to  a  certain  height,  let  go  his  hold,  as  if  to  kill  it 
by  the  fall ;  and,  seizing  it  a  second  time,  he  car 
ried  off  his  prey,  while  neither  the  cries  of  the 
shepherd  boy,  nor  the  barking  of  the  dogs,  could 
avail  any  thing  to  prevent  it. 

In  order  to  point  out  more  clearly  the  injustice 
practised  towards  the  Indians,  we  may  be  permuted 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  61 

to  draw  a  comparison  between  the  Indian  and  the 
Spanish  shepherd,  and  the  contrast  between  them 
will  serve  to  corroborate  what  we  have  asserted. 

In  Spain,  a  flock  of  sheep  usually  contains 
about  five  hundred  head,  and  to  tend  it  the  owner 
maintains  a  shepherd  and  a  swain,  who  are  both 
males.  In  Andalusia,  the  shepherd  earns  twenty- 
four  dollars  a  year,  and  the  swain  sixteen  dollars, 
amounting  in  all  to  forty  dollars.  Besides  their 
wages,  the  owner  is  bound  to  furnish  them  bread, 
oil,  vinegar,  and  salt,  besides  what  the  dogs  eat ; 
he  is  also  to  furnish  them  an  ass  to  drive  the  herd, 
and  when  the  number  is  augmented  to  three  flocks, 
an  overseer  is  appointed  to  keep  watch  over  them 
all,  who  earns  higher  wages  than  the  shepherd, 
and  the  master  provides  him  with  a  horse.  In 
Peru,  a  flock  usually  consists  of  eight  hundred  or 
a  thousand  head,  and  is  tended  by  a  single  indi 
vidual,  who  bears  in  that  country  the  name  of 
sheep-keeper.  This  man  earns  only  eighteen  dol 
lars  a  year,  from  which  sum,  after  deducting  the 
tribute,  only  ten  dollars  remain  ;  and  with  these 
he  is  to  provide  for  himself,  for  his  wife  and  chil 
dren,  and  for  the  dogs  which  are  to  aid  him  in 
taking  care  of  the  flock,  because  his  master  allows 
him  nothing  more.  The  low  rate  of  wages  should 
not  be  attributed  to  the  cheapness  of  provisions, 
for,  on  the  contrary,  every  thing  there  is  incom 
parably  dearer  than  it  is  in  Spain.  The  same  is 
6 


62  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

true  of  other  branches  of  industry,  and  it  is  diffi 
cult  to  imagine  how  those  people  subsist,  until  we 
become  acquainted  with  their  frugal  mode  of  liv 
ing.  The  hut  they  inhabit  has  scarcely  space 
sufficient  for  them  to  stretch  themselves,  although 
it  contains  not  an  article  of  furniture  ;  their  bed  is 
a  raw  sheepskin,  one  being  provided  for  each 
member  of  the  family,  and  they  never  use  a  pil 
low  ;  their  food  consists  of  two  or  three  spoonfuls 
of  oatmeal,  which  they  force  into  their  mouths, 
and,  after  stirring  it  with  the  tongue,  they  swallow 
it  and  instantly  drink  a  large  quantity  of  water  or 
chicha,  which  is  a  kind  of  malt  liquor,  whenever 
they  can  get  it ;  occasionally  they  substitute  for 
oatmeal  a  handful  of  maize,  boiled  in  water  until 
the  grain  swells  and  bursts.  This  constitutes  the 
whole  of  an  Indian's  sustenance. 

It  is  in  the  fourth  and  last  department  of  indus 
try,  namely,  the  "  obrages"  or  factories,  that  it 
appears  as  if  all  the  scourges  that  afflict  human 
ity  were  concentrated.  All  these  sufferings  are 
accumulated  upon  the  head  of  the  wretched  In 
dian,  and  bitter  lamentations  are  heard  on  every 
side  under  the  inflictions  of  the  rod  of  oppression. 
Several  of  his  majesty's  ministers  have  been  fully 
aware  of  this,  and  have  endeavored  to  take  very 
decisive  measures  in  respect  to  it ;  but  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  regulations  of  government  in 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO   PERU.  63 

regard  to  the  colonies  are  seldom  enforced,  as  will 
appear  in  the  sequel. 

The  workshops  are  a  combination  of  the  other 
three  classes  of  estates ;  they  are  the  factories 
where  the  cloths,  Baizes,  and  woollen  stuffs  known 
in  Peru  by  the  name  of  home  fabrics,  are  woven 
by  the  hand  loom.  In  former  years,  the  woollen 
manufactory  was  confined  to  the  Province  »of 
Quito;  but  it  has  been  recently  introduced  into 
other  districts,  although  the  articles  manufactured 
in  the  provinces  south  of  Quito  are  nothing  but 
coarse  cloths,  of  very  ordinary  texture.  In  Caja- 
marca,  there  are  looms  for  the  manufacture  of 
cotton  goods. 

To  form  an  accurate  idea  of  these  factories, 
they  might  be  compared  to  a  galley,  always  in 
motion,  being  constantly  propelled  by  the  oars, 
while  the  harbor  is  so  remote  that  it  can  never  be 
reached,  how  hard  soever  the  seamen  toil  in  an 
ticipation  of  rest.  The  management  of  those 
factories,  the  labors  performed  in  them  by  the 
Indians,  to  whose  unhappy  lot  this  service  falls, 
and  the  merciless  punishment  inflicted  upon  those 
miserable,  objects,  surpass  every  thing  which  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  describe. 

The  labor  of  the  workhouses  commences  before 
the  day  dawns,  at  which  time  every  Indian  takes 
his  place  at  the  piece  which  is  in  process  of  weav- 


64  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

ing,  and  the  tasks  of  the  day  are  distributed  as 
may  be  expedient ;  and  when  this  process  is  con 
cluded,  the  owner  of  the  house  closes  the  door, 
and  leaves  them  immured  as  in  a  prison.  At  mid 
day  the  door  is  opened  for  the  women  to  go  in 
with  their  scanty  allowance  of  food,  which  is  soon 
partaken,  and  they  are  again  locked  in.  When 
the  darkness  of  night  no  longer  permits  them  to 
labor,  the  owner  goes  round  to  gather  up  the 
stints ;  those  who  have  not  been  able  to  finish,  in 
spite  of  apologies  or  reasonings,  are  punished  with 
indescribable  cruelty ;  and  those  unfeeling  men, 
as  if  transformed  into  merciless  savages,  inflict 
upon  the  wretched  Indians  lashes  by  hundreds,  for 
they  use  no  other  method  of  counting ;  and  to 
complete  the  punishment,  they  remand  them  again 
to  the  workshop,  and,  although  the  whole  building 
is  a  prison-house,  a  portion  of  it  is  reserved  for 
fetters  and  instruments  of  torture,  where  they  are 
punished  with  greater  indignity  than  could  be  prac 
tised  towards  the  most  delinquent  slaves. 

During  the  day,  every  apartment  is  visited  by 
the  owner,  his  assistant,  and  his  overseer,  and  the 
Indian  who  is  chargeable  with  any  neglect  is  chas 
tised  at  the  time  with  the  whip,  and  afterwards 
goes  on  with  his  work,  until  the  time  arrives  to  put 
away  his  work,  when  the  punishment  is  frequently 
repeated. 

This  process  is  carried  on  every  day,  in  respect 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO   PERU.  65 

to  the  meta  Indians,  and  the  punishment  inflicted 
is  so  much  the  more  cruel,  as  it  does  by  no  means 
exempt  them  from  the  obligation  of  completing 
the  task  ;  for  all  their  delinquencies  are  noted  in  a 
register,  to  be  charged  to  their  account  at  the  close 
of  the  year ;  and  thus  the  debt  incurred  is  augment 
ing  from  year  to  year,  until,  finding  it  impossible 
to  make  up  their  arrears,  the  master  acquires  a 
right,  however  unfounded,  to  reduce  to  slavery  not 
only  the  meta  Indian,  but  all  his  sons.  The  treat 
ment  of  these  Indians  will  appear  to  be  gentle,  in 
comparison  with  that  experienced  by  those  who 
are  sentenced  by  the  corregidors  to  the  same  work 
houses  for  having  failed  to  pay  the  tribute  at  the 
time  it  was  demanded,  and  frequently,  as  we  have 
said,  when  they  were  not  under  any  obligation  to 
pay  it.  These  Indians  earn  a  real  a  day :  one 
half  is  kept  back  to  pay  the  corregidor,  and  the 
remaining  half  is  applied  to  their  maintenance, 
which  is  inadequate  for  a  man  who  labors  inces 
santly  the  whole  day ;  and,  in  proof  of  it,  imagine 
if  any  article  could  be  bought,  that  would  suffice 
for  his  nourishment,  for  half  a  real,  when  it  is  not 
enough  to  supply  him  with  chicha,  a  beverage  to 
which  the  Indians  are  strongly  addicted,  and  which 
has  become  so  much  a  part  of  their  nature  that  it 
nourishes  and  strengthens  them  as  much  as  what 
they  eat.  Besides,  as  the  Indian  is  unable  to  es 
cape  from  that  bondage,  he  is  obliged  to  take  what 
6* 


66  SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU. 

his  master  will  give  him  for  that  half  real.  The 
inhuman  owner  of  the  factory,  in  order  to  lose 
nothing  by  waste,  turns  to  account  for  their  use 
the  maize  or  barley  which  has  been  damaged  by 
keeping,  or  the  cattle  which  die,  and  contaminate 
the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  all  the  worst  and  most 
worthless  of  his  produce. 

As  a  result  of  this  course  of  treatment,  these 
Indians  fall  sick,  after  remaining  a  short  time  in  that 
condition,  and,  their  constitution  being  exhausted 
partly  for  want  of  nourishment,  partly  by  repeated 
punishment,  as  well  as  by  diseases  contracted 
from  the  bad  quality  of  their  food,  they  die  before 
they  have  been  able  to  pay  the  tribute  with  the 
avails  of  their  labor.  The  Indian  loses  his  life  and 
the  country  that  one  inhabitant,  whence  proceeds 
the  great  diminution  which  is  observed  to  be  taking 
place  in  that  kingdom.  Such  is  the  spectacle  ex 
hibited,  when  they  are  taken  out  dead,  that  it 
would  excite  compassion  in  the  most  unfeeling 
heart.  Only  a  mere  skeleton  remains  of  them  to 
publish  the  cause  which  doomed  them  to  perish ; 
and  the  greater  part  of  these  die  in  the  very  fac 
tories,  with  their  tasks  in  their  hands  ;  for,  although 
they  may  be  indisposed,  as  the  countenance  would 
indicate,  that  is  no  inducement  to  their  cruel  task 
master  to  exempt  them  from  labor  or  to  seek  their 
remedy.  Accustomed  to  look  upon  them  with 
utter  aversion,  they  do  not  imagine  a  sick  Indian 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  67 

to  be  a  worthy  inmate  of  a  hospital  until  his 
strength  is  so  far  exhausted  that  he  dies  before 
reaching  the  charitable  asylum,  and  those  are  for 
tunate  who  have  sufficient  power  of  resistance 
left  to  go  and  die  within  the  hospital.  To  be  con 
demned  to  the  factories  occasions  to  the  Indian 
greater  consternation  than  all  other  punishments 
that  -malice  can  invent.  The  married  Indian 
women  and  aged  mothers  begin  to  bewail  the 
death  of  their  husbands  or  their  children  from  the 
moment  they  are  sentenced  to  this  punishment. 
Children  do  the  same  in  respect  to  their  parents, 
nor  is  there  any  method  the  latter  will  not  devise 
to  rescue  their  children  from  the  labor  of  the 
workshop ;  and  their  sorrow  is  extreme  when  all 
expedients  fail  to  produce  the  desired  effect. 
The  anguish  which,  with  so  much  reason,  over 
whelms  them,  finds  vent,  in  view  of  the  place  of 
punishment,  as  they  raise  to  Heaven  their  cries, 
since  all  on  earth  combine  against  them,  and, 
restrained  by  no  tribunal  of  justice,  abandon  them 
to  such  hopeless  misery. 

Some  will  maintain  that  it  is  necessary  to  put 
the  Indians  into  the  workshops,  if  they  do  not  pay 
the  tribute,  in  order  to  compensate  the  loss  ;  hence 
it  is  that  the  governors  or  other  individuals  are 
allowed  to  do  it,  in  order  to  collect  the  debt.  But 
neither  the  laws  of  the  Indies  nor  the  express  com 
mands  of  our  sovereigns  permit  the  Indians  to  be 


68  SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO   PERU. 

treated  with  such  cruelty  as  is  practised  there ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  they  inculcate  compassion  and 
kindness  towards  these  inoffensive  subjects.  We 
may  readily  suppose  that  the  statements  which 
gained  their  assent  to  the  low  rate  of  wages  given 
were  either  false  or  inaccurate,  inasmuch  as  the 
king  and  his  council  were  led  to  believe  that  the 
pay  allowed  the  Indians  in  the  workshop  was  suffi 
cient  for  their  maintenance,  besides  leaving  a  sur 
plus  for  the  payment  of  the  tribute.  Under  the 
system  now  adopted,  neither  object  is  obtained. 

The  expedient  of  condemning  the  Indians  to 
these  fearful  places  has  become  so  general,  as  to 
render  them  the  grave  of  their  freedom  for  a  great 
variety  of  delinquencies  ;  a  trifling  debt,  even  to  a 
private  individual,  is  sufficient  ground  for  any  one 
invested  with  authority  to  inflict  this  punishment 
upon  them.  We  frequently  meet  Indians  on  the 
highway,  tied  by  the  hair  to  the  tail  of  a  horse, 
on  which  a  mestizo  is  mounted,  who  is  con 
veying  them  to  the  workshops,  and  perhaps  for 
the  trivial  offence  of  having  evaded  the  tyranny 
of  the  overseer,  from  fear  of  punishment.  Let 
what  will  be  said  of  the  cruelty  practised  by  the 
patrons  towards  the  Indians  at  the,commencement 
of  the  conquest,  we  cannot  persuade  ourselves, 
after  what  we  have  witnessed,  that  it  could  ever 
have  been  carried  to  the  extent  it  now  is  by  the 
Spaniards  and  mestizoes ;  and  if  at  that  period 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  69 

they  were  regarded  as  slaves,  they  had  but  one 
master  in  the  patron  ;  but  now  they  are  subject  to 
the  governors,  the  owners  of  workshops,  the  pro 
prietors  of  estates,  the  overseers  of  the  cattle,  and, 
what  is  most  scandalous  of  all,  the  very  ministers 
of  the  altar ;  all  these,  including  the  priesthood, 
treat  the  defenceless  Indians  with  more  cruelty 
than  they  exercise  towards  African  slaves. 

Not  only  the  meta  Indians  are  employed  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  estates,  but  also  their  wives  and 
children,  when  they  are  capable  of  doing  any 
thing,  who  are  treated  with  as  much  severity  as 
if  they  were  all  subject  to  the  meta  service. 
They  keep  the  women  and  children  employed  in 
planting  corn,  potatoes,  and  other  seeds,  in  weed 
ing  the  beds  of  vegetables,  in  gathering  the  har 
vest  and  shelling  the  corn,  and  in  the  various 
occupations  pertaining  to  the  farm ;  so  that  it  is  no 
small  convenience  to  masters  to  have  with  an  In 
dian  so  badly  paid  so  many  to  labor  obsequiously 
in  his  service. 

It  is  a  prevailing  opinion  in  all  those  countries, 
and  especially  in  the  mountainous  districts,  that  if 
the  Indians  were  not  subject  to  the  meta,  they 
would  become  idle,  and  the  plantations  would 
cease  to  be  cultivated  ;  but  this  is  a  mistaken  no 
tion,  as  we  shall  presently  show.  But  what  may 
we  suppose  will  not  be  urged  by  those  whose  in 
terest  it  is  to  defend  the  meta  ?  They  say  that 


70        SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

the  Indies  could  not  be  held  by  us  without  it ;  that 
were  it  not  for  this  restraint,  the  Indians  would  re 
volt;  and  that  the  fact  that  they  have  not  done  so 
is  chiefly  owing  to  the  oppressed  condition  in  which 
they  are  held  by  the  Spaniards.  These  and  other 
like  calumnies  are  invented  by  malice,  as  an  apol 
ogy  for  cruelty;  and  even  admitting  what  they 
assert  to  be  true,  can  there  exist  any  law  or  reason 
why  they  should  be  deprived  of  what  is  neces 
sary  for  their  support,  if  they  are  forced  to  labor 
with  unparalleled  rigor  ?  We  cannot  imagine  a 
system  of  discipline  so  barbarous  as  to  authorize 
such  a  degree  of  oppression.  The  truth  being 
concealed  under  the  disguise  of  erroneous  state 
ments,  (some  of  which  we  have  detected,)  meas 
ures  are  adopted  on  the  supposition  that  these  state 
ments  are  true,  and  that  they  have  in  view  the  com 
mon  welfare  and  preservation  of  those  kingdoms. 
In  order  to  expose  more  clearly  the  malignant 
character  of  the  communications  which  come  to  us 
from  thence,  exaggerating  the  indolence  and  dila 
tory  habits  of  the  Indians,  let  us  direct  our  atten 
tion  to  those  plantations  which  do  not  have  the 
benefit  of  the  meta,  or  in  which  the  number  of 
meta  Indians  is  comparatively  small.  Do  they  on 
this  account  fail  to  be  cultivated  ?  By  no  means  ; 
for,  at  a  small  additional  expense,  they  have  as 
many  Indians  as  are  required,  and  with  no  other 
difference  than  that  of  hiring  them  on  wages  ;  and 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  71 

although  the  rate  does  not  exceed  one  real  a  day,  — 
a  sum  scarcely  adequate  to  their  daily  wants,  —  they 
do  not  despise  it,  because  they  avail  themselves  of 
the  assistance  of  their  wives  ;  and  when  they  have 
no  work  in  hand  for  their  own  account  and  bene 
fit,  they  are  prompt  to  labor  for  a  real  a  day. 
This  makes  it  evident  that  they  would  labor  even 
were  they  not  compelled  to  it  by  the  cruel  ex 
pedient  of  the  meta.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the 
Indians,  being  employed  on  the  plantations  at  a 
real  a  day,  even  at  this  reduced  rate  of  wages,  the 
three  hundred  days  of  the  year  would  require 
thirty-seven  dollars  and  a  half ;  and  with  this  sum 
the  owner  of  the  plantation  would  have  but  one 
person  to  work  for  him ;  while  under  the  meta 
system,  which  allows  only  one  half  this  sum,  esti 
mating  the  wages  at  eighteen  dollars  a  year,  they 
have,  besides  the  reduction  of  wages,  which  is  so 
considerable,  the  advantage  of  securing  the  ser 
vices  of  a  whole  family. 

What  we  have  just  remarked  is  not  at  variance 
with  the  statement  made  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
history  of  our  tour,  respecting  the  nature,  pecu 
liarities,  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  for  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  they  are  phlegmatic,  and  that  it 
requires  exertion  to  make  them  labor ;  but  this 
proceeds  in  a  great  measure  from  the  fact  that  all 
that  tribe  are  so  irritated  and  aggrieved  by  the 
treatment  they  receive  from  the  Spaniards,  that  it 


72  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

is  no  wonder  if  whatever  they  do  should  be  done 
reluctantly.  Let  us  suppose  a  system  to  be  estab 
lished  in  Spain,  by  which  the  rich  should  oblige 
the  poor  to  labor  for  their  benefit  without  any 
equivalent  —  would  they  be  disposed  to  do  so  ? 
Let  us  reflect,  then,  how  much  less  inclined  to 
labor  those  unfortunate  Indians  would  be,  who  are 
rendered  martyrs  by  incessant  punishment,  such 
as  would  not  be  endured  by  any  but  a  simple  race 
of  men,  or  by  those  who  wear  their  chains  as  a 
matter  of  necessity,  and  as  the  penalty  which  their 
crimes  have  merited. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  Indians  of  the  pres 
ent  day  discover  very  little  inclination  to  labor,  for 
they  are  naturally  sluggish  and  dilatory ;  but  it  is 
likewise  true,  that  when  their  own  interest  is  at 
stake,  natural  indolence  presents  no  obstacle  to  ex 
ertion.  The  system  of  economy  and  government 
adopted  in  those  countries  is  based  upon  so  bad  a 
footing,  that,  whether  the  Indian  labor  or  not,  the 
result  is  the  same  as  regards  his  own  benefit ; 
hence  it  is  not  strange  that  his  love  of  ease  should 
make  him  lean  to  the  side  of  indolence,  rather 
than  to  that  of  activity.  Nor  is  this  a  weakness 
exclusively  Indian;  it  is  inherent  in  all  men. 
Look  at  the  most  civilized  nations  on  the  globe, 
and  none  will  be  found  among  them  all  who  are 
disposed  to  exert  their  skill  and  strength  without  the 
incentive  of  gain,  and  their  activity  is  in  propor- 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  73 

tion  to  the  benefit  which  is  to  result  from  it.  But  it 
is  the  same  to  the  Indian,  whether  he  earn  money  at 
the  cost  of  sweat  and  toil,  or  not,  for  the  gain  is 
so  transient,  in  passing  through  his  hands,  that 
he  never  knows  what  it  is  to  enjoy  it ;  the  more 
he  labors  and  strives,  the  more  rapidly  it  passes 
from  his  possession  to  that  of  the  corregidors,  cu 
rates,  and  owners  of  the  plantations.  In  view  of 
this,  who  will  tax  the  Indian  with  sloth,  and  not 
rather  the  Spaniard  with  impiety,  avarice,  and  op 
pression  ? 

It  might  seem  to  be  carrying  the  defence  of  the 
Indians  too  far,  to  exculpate  them  entirely,  and  to 
attribute  to  the  Spaniards  the  cause  of  their  want 
of  industry ;  but  the  examples  furnished  by  anti 
quity  justify  such  a  conclusion,  and  testimonies  of 
modern  date  corroborate  it  with  every  possible  de 
gree  of  conviction.  If  we  turn  our  eyes  to  the 
period  prior  to  their  conversion,  we  shall  be  aston 
ished  at  the  grandeur  of  their  public  works,  which 
deserve  our  admiration  to  such  a  degree  that  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  how  such  wonders 
could  have  been  accomplished.  Let  us  throw 
out  of  the  account  those  which  are  described  in 
history,  lest  their  very  magnificence  should  lead 
to  a  suspicion  of  falsehood  or  exaggeration,  and 
take  as  our  model  what  even  now  the  eye  can 
trace  in  the  ruins  of  those  works  which  still  re 
main  ;  and  we  shall  find  materials  sufficient  not 

I 


74  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

only  to  disprove  the  injurious  opinion  in  which 
they  are  held,  but  to  furnish  evidence  of  extraor 
dinary  activity  and  exertion.  Is  not  this  apparent 
in  the  patient  industry  by  which  they  have  con 
structed  a  multitude  of  aqueducts  ?  They  have 
brought  under  cultivation  a  piece  of  ground  which 
was  useless  without  the  benefit  of  irrigation  :  by 
opening  a  watercourse  from  a  remote  source,  and, 
continuing  it  along  the  declivities  of  the  towering 
Andes,  to  escape  the  fearful  ravines  which  im 
peded  its  course  in  a  right  line,  they  caused  the 
water  to  run  a  circuit  of  more  than  thirty  leagues, 
as  the  nature  of  the  soil  required,  until  they  had 
attained  their  original  purpose  of  cultivating  that 
piece  of  ground,  and  rendering  it  fruitful.  These 
works,  which  are  truly  grand,  remained  from  that 
period  in  such  perfection  as  to  be  serviceable  to 
the  Spaniards  in  a  later  age;  nor  can  we  omit 
what  it  shames  us  to  say,  that  the  Spaniards  them 
selves  of  that  country  have  suffered  many  of  them 
to  go  into  decay,  by  their  lamentable  neglect; 
and,  much  as  they  feel  the  want  of  them  now, 
they  are  unable  to  repair  them,  nor  is  there  a  sin 
gle  undertaking  of  the  kind  which  has  been  at 
tempted  since  the  conquest. 

The  bridges,  the  causeways,  and  the  roads  of 
all  Peru  were  constructed  by  Gentile  Indians,  with 
astonishing  perseverance,  of  which,  however,  the 
greater  part  have  been  ruined  by  the  neglect  of 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  75 

the  new  colonists.  Where  but  in  Peru,  without 
excepting  even  the  most  celebrated  kingdoms,  are 
to  be  seen  roads  more  than  four  hundred  leagues 
long,  of  a  solid  foundation,  of  uniform  breadth,  and 
their  sides  protected  throughout  by  walls  of  suffi 
cient  breadth  and  thickness  ?  Vestiges  remain  to 
announce  the  immensity  of  this  work,  and  its  decay 
will  always  bear  witness  to  the  neglect  of  the 
Spaniards  who  settled  in  the  empire  of  the  Incas. 
Are  not  the  Tambos,  or  spacious  inns,  which  still 
exist  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  Province  of 
Quito,  as  well  as  in  all  the  mountainous  country, 
infallible  indications  that  the  Indians  did  not  live  so 
abandoned  to  indolence  that  they  could  not  shake 
it  off,  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  object  which 
might  minister  to  their  convenience  ?  The  pal 
aces,  the  temples,  and  the  other  works  mentioned 
in  the  first  part  of  the  history  of  our  travels,  do 
not  permit  us  the  injustice  of  imputing  to  that 
people  the  love  of  ease,  when  they  all  bear  evi 
dence  to  the  contrary.  Let  us  now  examine  their 
manner  of  life  at  the  present  time,  and  we  shall 
find  that  they  are  not  indisposed  to  labor. 

All  the  free  Indians  cultivate  the  lands  belong 
ing  to  them  with  so  much  care,  that  they  leave  no 
portion  of  them  fallow.  It  is  true  that  their  arable 
lands  are  circumscribed  ;  but  it  is  because  they  are 
not  allowed  to  possess  more,  and  not  for  want  of 
care  and  toil  to  render  them  productive.  The 


76        SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

caciques,  who  have  a  larger  portion  assigned  them, 
lay  out  extensive  planting-grounds,  rear  cattle  ac 
cording  to  their  means  and  opportunities,  and  hus 
band  all  they  can,  without  being  compelled  by 
force,  and  without  using  compulsion  towards  those 
who  labor  for  them. 

When  the  Indians  who  are  not  employed  in  the 
workhouses  have  any  leisure  time,  and  have  fin 
ished  the  heavy  task  assigned  them  by  their  over 
seers,  they  labor  at  home,  on  their  own  account. 
All  the  Indian  women  do  the  same,  when  opportu 
nity  offers.  This  is  not  consistent  with  the  charge 
alleged  against  them,  that  they  are  idle  ;  for  any 
other  people  whatever  would  detest  labor,  could 
they  once  know  that  the  avails  of  it  were  to  be  ap 
plied,  not  to  their  own  benefit,  but  to  the  benefit  of 
others. 

The  facts  adduced  are  sufficient  to  show  that 
the  Spaniards  of  those  countries  have  exaggerated 
the  indolence  of  the  Indians,  in  order  to  render  the 
use  of  the  meta  indispensable,  applying  it  to  their 
own  emolument  —  a  measure  which  tends  directly 
to  the  injury  of  the  Indians,  and  to  the  exhaustion  of 
the  royal  treasury,  because  a  vast  number  perish 
under  a  system  beyond  measure  rigorous,  as  well 
as  from  want  of  sustenance,  and  the  total  neglect 
of  the  aged  and  infirm.  In  proportion  as  the  num 
ber  of  the  Indians  decreases,  the  amount  of  tribute 
falls  short,  and  the  towns  become  depopulated. 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  77 

These  results  are  so  palpable  that  they  are  felt  and 
acknowledged  even  by  those  who  are  blinded  by 
prejudice. 

Notwithstanding  what  we  have  said  of  the  pun 
ishment  inflicted  upon  the  Indians  in  the  work 
houses,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  give  an  exact  idea  of 
the  system,  as  it  is  practised  in  them ;  and  hence 
we  are  obliged  to  present  some  further  particulars. 

As  there  are  in  the  workhouses  three  taskmas 
ters,  who  have  the  constant  supervision  of  the  In 
dian  weavers,  so  there  are  three  employed  on  the 
plantations,  which  are  the  overseer,  his  assistant,  and 
second  ;  but  as  the  latter  is  always  an  Indian,  he 
is  not  accustomed  to  inflict  blows  on  the  rest ;  he 
is  permitted,  however,  to  carry  a  whip,  like  the 
rest,  to  make  his  authority  respected.  Each  one 
holds  his  own  scourge  without  letting  it  fall  from 
his  hand  the  whole  day  long :  this  instrument  of 
torture  resembles  a  rope's  end,  about  a  yard  long, 
and  a  little  less  than  a  finger  in  thickness,  and  is 
made  of  cow's  hide,  twisted  like  cord.  In  case 
the  Indian  has  been  guilty  of  any  wrong  or  neg 
lect,  he  is  required  to  lie  flat  on  his  face,  when  his 
thin  drawers,  which  make  up  his  whole  dress,  are 
taken  off,  and  he  is  scourged  with  the  rod,  being 
himself  obliged  to  count  the  lashes  that  are  in 
flicted  upon  him,  until  the  number  prescribed  in 
the  sentence  has  been  completed.  He  then  gets 
up,  and  is  required  to  kneel  in  presence  of  the 
7* 


78  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

man  with  the  whip,  and,  kissing  his  hand,  to  say 
to  him,  "  May  God  bless  you  ! "  the  trembling 
lips  of  the  wretched  Indian  thus  giving  thanks  in 
the  name  of  God  for  the  stripes  inflicted  upon  him, 
almost  always  unjustly.  Nor  are  men  alone  sub 
ject  to  punishment,  but  their  wives  and  children, 
and  even  the  caciques,  whose  rank  and  dignity  en 
title  them  to  consideration. 

The  practice  of  scourging  the  Indians  so  unmer 
cifully  is  not  confined  to  the  workhouses,  planta 
tions,  and  meta  Indians  but  the  priests  chastise 
their  parishioners,  and  exact  any  service  from 
them  whatever  by  dint  of  blows ;  for  if  the 
Indian  should  not  do  promptly  what  is  required 
of  him,  it  is  deemed  sufficient  motive  to  make 
him  lie  down,  and  to  inflict  stripes  upon  him 
with  a  whip,  or  with  the  reins  of  the  horse,  until 
his  strength  is  exhausted.  This  enormity  reaches 
such  a  pass,  that  even  negro  slaves  and  the  vilest 
sort  of  persons  practise  it  continually  on  their  own 
responsibility,  with  no  other  reason  or  pretext 
than  their  own  caprice  ;  nor  is  the  suffering  merely 
casual,  nor  confined  to  this  or  that  individual,  but 
it  is  the  lot  of  the  whole  family  of  Indians,  as 
an  evidence  of  which  we  shall  mention  what  took 
place  during  our  residence  in  some  villages,  and 
even  in  our  own  house. 

In  the  city  of  Cuenca,  we  took  a  house  in  com 
pany  with  the  French  gentlemen  associated  with 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  79 

us,  and  some  of  the  servants  employed  by  the 
latter  were  Europeans,  others  mestizoes,  and  oth 
ers  negro  slaves,  which  the  French  company  had 
brought  with  them  from  St.  Domingo.  When  it 
became  requisite  to  clean  the  yard  and  outhouses, 

—  a  service  belonging  to  the  mestizoes  and  negroes, 

—  the  latter,  to  rid  themselves  of  it,  passed  to  the 
street,  and  compelled  the  Indians  who  were  trav 
elling  by  to  enter  the  houses,  and  then   obliged 
them  to  perform  all  the  labor.     We  reprimanded 
the  former,  and  ordered  the  slaves  to  be  punished  ; 
but,   as   they  were   corrupted    by  the    precedent 
which  had  been  introduced  in  other  houses,  they 
waited  till  we  had   gone  out  of  doors,  in  order 
to  accomplish  their  purpose.     However,  the  fear 
which  servants  entertain  towards  their  masters  re 
strained  them  from  treating  the  Indians  with  cru 
elty,  and  at  length  they  gave  them  the  leavings 
of  the  kitchen,  which  in  some  degree  compensated 
their  labor.     But  their  being  whipped  by  negro 
slaves,  or  made  to  run  bound  to  the  tail  of  a  horse, 
as  is  practised  by  mestizoes  and  Spaniards,  is  so 
common   an    occurrence   as   scarcely   to   attract 
notice. 

The .  punishments  already  described  are  those 
which  are  usually  inflicted  upon  the  Indians ;  but 
when  the  rage  of  the  master  or  overseer  is  not 
appeased,  they  scald  them  likewise,  as  is  done  iu 
the  negro  colonies,  although  by  a  different  method. 


80  SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU. 

Their  mode  is  to  take  two  pieces  of  the  spunk  of 
maguey,  which  is  the  light  pith  of  the  stalk  of  the 
agave  plant,  and,  after  having  been  set  on  fire, 
they  strike  them  together,  that  the  sparks  may  fall 
on  the  flesh  simultaneously  with  the  infliction  of 
the  rod. 

The  patient  Indian  submits  without  murmuring 
to  imprisonment,  hunger,  stripes,  and  every  spe 
cies  of  torture  ;  but  an  affront  is  to  him  intolera 
ble  ;  the  greatest  degree  of  ignominy  is  that  of 
having  the  head  shaved  by  way  of  chastisement ; 
and  as  the  disgrace  of  this  punishment  is  more 
permanent  than  that  of  bodily  suffering,  the 
abashed  Indian  seeks  in  vain  for  consolation  under 
this  misfortune ;  notwithstanding,  whenever  his 
crime  be  one  of  an  aggravated  nature,  and  the 
wrath  of  the  master  is  implacable,  he  is  shorn 
of  his  hair,  and  left  to  inconsolable  grief  and 
anguish.*  In  a  word,  the  most  insatiable  spirit  of 
revenge  has  never  been  able  to  invent  any  species 
of  punishment  which  the  Indian  does  not  receive 
at  the  hand  of  the  Spaniards. 

It  is  a  common  remark  of  the  most  sober  and 
thoughtful  men  of  those  countries,  that  if  the  In 
dians  suffer  for  God's  sake  the  hardships  through 

*  This  punishment  was  inflicted  upon  an  Indian  man  and 
woman  while  I  was  at  Chillo,  in  1837.  The  owner  of  the 
estate  on  which  the  Indians  lived  gave  the  order,  but  his 
conduct  was  severely  reprobated.  —  TB. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  81 

which  they  pass  during  their  whole  lives,  they 
would  be  worthy,  at  the  moment  of  their  death,  to 
have  their  names  inscribed  in  the  calendar.  The 
perpetual  hunger,  and  nakedness,  and  poverty,  as 
well  as  the  interminable  oppression  and  barbarous 
chastisements  which  they  suffer,  from  the  period 
of  their  birth  to  their  death,  are  penances  more 
than  sufficient  to  make  amends  in  this  life  for  all 
the  sins  which  can  be  imputed  to  them. 

The  natives  have  become  so  accustomed  to  chas 
tisement  that  they  not  only  cease  to  fear  it,  but 
even  regard  an  occasional  truce  from  it  with  appre 
hension  and  alarm.  The  Indian  boys  (cholitos) 
who  wait  upon  the  curates  and  other  individuals 
are  wont  to  look  sad,  and  even  to  flee  away,  after 
a  long  interval  of  exemption  from  punishment; 
and  if  questioned  as  to  the  cause  of  their  sadness 
or  flight,  they  reply,  in  their  simplicity,  that  their 
masters  do  not  appear  to  love  them,  because  they 
no  longer  chastise  them.  The  source  of  this  error 
is  not  to  be  looked  for  in  their  simplicity,  nor  in 
any  partiality  the  mature  Indian  may  have  to  chas 
tisement  in  itself;  but,  having  been  accustomed  to 
ill  treatment  ever  since  the  conquest,  they  have 
conceived  the  idea  that  the  Spaniards  are  a  class 
of  people  whose  very  caresses  and  fondnesses  are 
stripes  and  blows  ;  and  this  is  either  no  mistake, 
or,  if  it  be  one,  it  is  pardonable  in  the  Indians ;  for 
their  masters,  after  having  chastised  them  with 


82  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

merciless  cruelty,  always  say  to  them  that  they 
punish  them  because  they  love  them,  and  the  sim 
ple  Indian  has  learned  to  give  to  this  barbarous 
expression  its  literal  import.  Parents  teach  it  to 
their  children,  and  the  unsuspecting  innocence  of 
the  latter  is  easily  made  to  believe  that  it  is  doing 
them  a  kindness  to  make  them  weep  and  bathe 
themselves  in  tears  of  anguish ;  hence  it  is  that 
they  are  accustomed  to  give  thanks  to  their  tor 
mentor,  kneeling  before  him  and  kissing  his  hand, 
although  it  be  that  of  a  negro,  with  expressions  of 
gratitude  for  an  act  of  cruelty,  as  if  it  had  been 
the  dictate  of  mercy. 

Such  is  the  terror  occasioned  by  the  very  name 
of  Spaniard,  or  Viracocha,  (a  term  comprehend 
ing  all  who  are  not  Indian,)  that  when  mothers 
would  frighten  their  little  ones,  or  make  them  hush 
when  they  cry,  or  hide  themselves  in  the  corner 
of  their  clay  huts,  by  merely  saying  to  them  that 
the  Viracocha  is  going  to  catch  them,  they  are 
struck  with  horror,  and  run  without  knowing  where 
to  find  a  place  of  refuge.  We  have  ourselves 
experienced  this  continually,  and  although  it  be 
came  necessary  on  some  occasions  to  speak  to 
them,  to  make  inquiries  concerning  the  road,  it 
was  impossible  to  do  so,  as  we  could  not  get  them 
to  stop  and  hear  the  question  put  to  them.  So 
timid  are  they,  that,  when  one  of  them  begins  to 
run,  all  the  rest  who  can  see  him,  however 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU-  83 

remote  they  may  be,  do  the  same ;  and  should  they 
be  accidentally  impeded  by  any  ravine,  they  pre 
fer  to  throw  themselves  down  at  the  hazard  of 
their  lives,  rather  than  expose  themselves  to  the 
more  imminent  danger  of  the  approach  of  the 
Viracocha.  All  this  has  no  other  source  or  pre 
text  than  the  unheard-of  cruelty  with  which  all 
without  exception  are  treated.  But  we  have  en 
tered  into  more  minute  details  than  we  intended, 
as  it  is  a  subject  of  which  no  important  particular 
should  be  left  unnoticed. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  same    Subject    continued.  —  Sequestration    of    Lands 
belonging  to  the  Indians. 

So  various  are  the  expedients  invented  by  mal 
ice  to  multiply  the  means  used  to  oppress  the  In 
dians,  that  we  find  materials  on  every  hand  for 
entering  into  further  details  of  their  extreme  suf 
ferings  ;  and  although  the  particulars  brought  to 
view  in  the  preceding  chapters  might  suffice  to 
show  the  tyranny  practised  towards  that  unfortu 
nate  people,  we  cannot  omit  what  we  have  to 
relate  in  this,  as  the  subject  is  one  of  great  impor 
tance.  The  advantages  resulting  to  all  classes,  at 
the  expense  of  the  care  and  personal  labor  of  the 
Indians,  have  already  been  mentioned ;  we  are 
now  to  speak  of  the  power  which  the  spirit  of 
avarice  exercises  in  stripping  them  not  only  of  the 
means  necessary  for  their  own  support,  but  even 
of  acquiring  a  sufficient  sum  to  pay  the  tribute 
money  —  the  only  impost  to  which  they  are  sub 
ject,  agreeably  to  the  considerate  policy  of  our 
sovereigns,  and  which  is  so  just  and  reasonable, 
that,  if  nothing  else  were  exacted,  this  burden 
would  not  fall  heavily  upon  them.  Such  is  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  85 

opinion  of  the  Indians  themselves,  as  we  have 
heard  them  say  on  various  occasions,  and  not  of 
their  caciques  only,  but  of  others  who  were  pres 
ent  with  us  in  the  uninhabited  deserts  where  we 
abode  ;  on  which  account,  in  addition  to  the  cir 
cumstance  of  having  taken  up  our  quarters  some 
times  in  their  very  houses  or  huts,  at  others  on 
the  different  plantations,  and  at  other  times  in  their 
villages,  we  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  become 
witnesses  of  their  complaints,  and  to  hear  them 
recount  the  acts  of  violence  and  injustice  with 
which  they  are  harassed. 

The  king's  envoys,  bearing  a  commission  from 
him  to  those  parts,  have  given  these  subjects  only 
a  superficial  examination  ;  some  because  they 
wanted  opportunity,  and  others  because  their  atten 
tion  was  directed  exclusively  to  their  own  interest, 
as  they  were  intent  only  on  discovering  new  meth 
ods  of  amassing  a  fortune.  These  circumstances 
did  not  obtain  in  us,  inasmuch  as  our  ambition  did 
not  reach  beyond  acquiring  a  treasure  of  useful 
information,  nor  had  we  any  other  end  in  view 
than  to  investigate  the  truth,  to  render  our  report 
as  accurate  as  possible,  so  that  we  may  say  with 
confidence  that  we  have  secured  our  object  to  our 
entire  satisfaction.  Our  small  and  unimposing 
suite  did  not  inspire  such  terror  among  the  Indians 
that  the  sight  of  it  should  make  them  shun  the 
familiar  intercourse  we  desired  and  sought;  but 
8 


86  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  affability  of  our  manner,  indicating  a  disposi 
tion  to  regard  them  as  beings  of  our  own  species, 
set  them  at  liberty,  and  inspired  courage  in  their 
timid,  pusillanimous  hearts  to  communicate  their 
sentiments  to  us  freely.  The  kindness  with  which 
we  treated  them  (as  did  also  the  French  gentle 
men,  our  companions)  emboldened  them  to  make 
known  to  us  their  complaints.  The  conscientious 
strictness  with  which  we  paid  the  hire  of  those 
who  waited  upon  us  gave  them  occasion  to  speak 
of  the  different  manner  in  which  their  services 
were  usually  recompensed  ;  in  a  word,  the  con 
stant  routine  of  passing  from  one  province  to 
another  furnished  us  occasions  more  than  sufficient 
to  confirm  whatever  they  had  disclosed  to  us,  and 
even  to  observe  many  things  of  which  we  had 
been  ignorant. 

One  circumstance  which,  more  than  any  other, 
awakens  our  sympathy  for  that  unfortunate  people, 
is  to  see  them  entirely  stripped  of  their  lands  ;  for 
although,  at  the  period  of  the  conquest  and  of  the 
laying  out  of  townships,  certain  portions  had  been 
reserved  for  the  purpose  of  being  allotted  to  the 
caciques  and  Indians  belonging  to  the  township, 
avarice  has  gradually  curtailed  them  to  such  a  de 
gree,  that  the  tracts  which  remain  to  them  are  cir 
cumscribed  within  narrow  limits,  and  the  greater 
part  has  been  wrested  from  them  altogether. 
Some  Indians  have  been  despoiled  of  their  lands 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PE.RF.  87 

by  violence  ;  others,  because  the  owners  of  the 
neighboring  estates  have  compelled  them  to  sell  at 
any  price  they  may  choose  to  give  ;  and  others, 
because  they  have  been  induced  to  surrender  them 
under  false  pretences. 

The  first  cacique  whose  acquaintance  we  made 
in  the  Province  of  Quito  was  of  the  town  of  Mu- 
lalo,  in  the  district  of  La  Tacunga.  His  name 
was  Sanipatin,  a  very  worthy  individual,  and  so 
much  attached  to  the  king  that  he  could  not  dis 
guise  his  sentiments  of  loyalty.  On  one  of  the 
many  occasions  we  had  to  pass  through  his  village, 
always  taking  lodgings  at  his  house,  the  subject  of 
the  "  repartimientos,"  or  division  of  lands,  was  in 
troduced,  and,  among  other  grounds  of  complaint, 
he  informed  us  that  having  two  lots  of  ground 
which  belonged  to  him,  and  in  which  he  sowed  his 
wheat  fields,  a  neighboring  Spaniard,  owner  of  an 
estate,  wishing  to  enlarge  his  own  by  usurping 
what  belonged  to  another,  entered  his  name  before 
the  Audience  of  Quito  as  purchaser  of  one  of 
those  lots  ;  and  although  the  cacique  immediately 
presented  himself  in  support  of  his  claim,  he  could 
not  substantiate  it,  but  was  afterwards  stripped  of 
his  plantation,  in  spite  of  entreaties,  remonstrances, 
representations,  and  urgent  appeals  to  his  patron 
to  undertake  his  defence.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
the  lands  of  the  Indians  are  alienated  every  day, 
in  case  the  claim  should  be  persisted  in  with 


88  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

resolution.  The  illegality  proceeds  from  the  fact 
that,  as  the  Indians  have  no  other  title  to  them  than 
the  right  of  possession,  (for  even  were  documents 
in  existence,  they  are  incapable  of  pointing  out  the 
office  or  archives  where  they  are  deposited,)  they 
are  claimed  as  unoccupied  lands,  and  sold  as  such, 
injustice  sheltering  itself  under  this  false  pretext. 
In  this  way,  the  greater  part  of  the  estates  owned 
by  the  Spaniards  individually,  or  in  a  corporate  ca 
pacity,  have  been  gradually  augmenting,  while  tin? 
cultivated  grounds  which  belonged  to  the  Indians 
have  proportionally  diminished,  and  the  number  of 
inhabitants  has  decreased  in  the  same  proportion. 

On  the  estate  of  Guachala,  we  were  eye-witnesses 
of  another  of  those  instances  of  usurpation  to 
which  the  Indians  of  that  country  are  always  ex 
posed.  We  happened  to  arrive  on  the  plantation 
at  the  time  the  proprietor  was  there,  and,  not  long 
after  we  came  into  the  house,  he  sent  for  an  In 
dian  who  possessed  lands  in  his  vicinity,  and,  in 
venting  a  ridiculous  story  relative  to  the  motive  of 
our  arrival,  induced  him  to  abandon  his  lands  in  his 
favor  for  a  very  trifling  consideration  ;  and  as  he 
entered  at  once  into  possession,  having  concluded 
the  bargain  with  the  Indian,  he  himself  gave  us  an 
account  of  the  transaction.  It  appears  that  the 
Spaniard  had  been  pressing  the  Indian  for  a  long 
time  to  part  with  his  lands,  but  he  would  not  con 
sent  ;  and  not  being  in  favor  with  the  Audience,  so 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.        89 

as  to  get  them  adjudged  to  him  as  unoccupied 
lands,  he  was  eagerly  pursuing  other  measures  to 
secure  his  object,  when  his  malicious  heart  sug 
gested  to  him  that  he  would  intimate  to  the  Indian 
that  we,  in  company  with  the  French  gentlemen, 
had  arrived  with  orders  from  the  king  to  recon 
noitre  all  the  lands,  which  the  Indians  had  usurped 
from  the  Spaniards,  to  wrest  them  from  their 
hands,  and  to  restore  them  to  their  lawful  owners. 
He  then  informed  him  that  the  lands  which  he 
claimed  did  not  belong  to  him,  for  there  could  be 
no  doubt  they  were  usurped,  situated  as  they  were 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  estate.  He  ad 
vised  him  to  give  them  up  of  his  own  accord,  and 
he  would  bestow  on  him  some  trifling  charity  in 
consideration  of  their  value  ;  but  if  he  refused  to 
listen  to  his  advice,  as  we  were  there  on  his  estate, 
and  as  this  was  the  express  object  of  our  tour,  he 
would  present  a  complaint  against  him,  by  means 
of  which  he  would  not  only  be  deprived  of  his 
lands  by  a  legal  process,  but  would  be  punished  as 
a  usurper  of  another  man's  property.  The  In 
dian,  whose  simplicity  (which  is  natural  to  the 
whole  race)  could  not  penetrate  the  depraved  de 
sign  of  the  man  who  deceived  him,  supposing  that 
artfully  contrived  falsehood  to  be  true,  did  not  hes 
itate  to  abandon  them,  and  leave  them  free  from 
encumbrance  ;  and  in  order  to  make  it  impossible 
that  they  should  revert  to  him,  should  he  discover 
8* 


90  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  fraud,  the  Spaniard  purchased  the  seeds  which 
had  already  been  sown. 

Others  avail  themselves  of  measures  still  more 
iniquitous  than  the  preceding  ;  instigating  the  over 
seers  of  their  estates  to  persecute  them  ;  stirring 
them  up  to  anger,  in  order  to  find  an  occasion  for 
oppressing  them,  and  inducing  them  by  these  means 
(driven  as  they  are  to  desperation  by  the  proximity 
of  the  Spaniards)  to  sell  their  lands  for  any  thing 
they  are  willing  to  give  them,  and  to  retire  to 
some  more  remote  district,  where  they  may  enjoy 
repose. 

The  owners  of  estates  secure  to  themselves  two 
important  ends  in  despoiling  the  Indians  of  their 
lands  :  the  first  is,  that  they  enlarge  thereby  their 
own  estates,  as  we  have  just  seen  ;  and  the  second, 
that  those  Indians  who  have  been  thus  disabled 
from  working  on  their  own  account  may  be  com 
pelled  to  perform  a  voluntary  meta  service.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  scarcely  known  to  the  governor 
and  curates  that  the  Indian  has  received  the  pro 
ceeds  of  a  forced  and  profitless  sale,  than  they  de 
vise  means  —  the  former  by  fomenting  quarrels, 
and  the  latter  by  celebrating  saints'  days  —  to  get 
that  money  into  their  own  hands,  the  poor  Indian 
being  stripped  of  his  lands,  as  well  as  of  the  paltry 
price  he  had  received  for  them.  The  persecuted 
wretch,  finding  himself  destitute  of  means  to 
support  his  family  and  pay  the  tribute  money 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  91 

when  it  becomes  due,  to  escape  famishing  in  a  fac 
tory,  is  compelled  to  sell  himself  on  an  estate  that 
his  master  may  assume  the  debt ;  hence  has  re 
sulted  the  unpeopling  of  the  whole  country,  inas 
much  as  poverty,  anguish,  and  unremitting  toil 
waste  away  the  health  of  whole  families,  until  they 
die  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  hunger. 

In  the  same  way  as  the  Indians  are  stripped  of 
their  lands,  when  they  are  weak  and  defenceless, 
they  are  also  deprived  of  whatever  pertains  to 
them  in  the  form  of  an  inheritance,  an  evidence 
of  which  may  be  found  in  what  is  actually  taking 
place  in  Quito.  Among  the  nunneries  erected  in 
that  city,  there  is  one  of  St.  Clair,  a  royal  founda 
tion,  which  was  instituted  in  behalf  of  the  daugh 
ters  of  the  caciques,  that  they  might  take  the  veil 
in  it ;  for  although  noble  by  birth,  they  were  re 
fused  admittance  into  the  other  corporations  until 
their  complaints  came  to  the  knowledge  of  his 
majesty,  when  he  decreed  that  this  should  be  built 
for  their  benefit,  Few  Indian  women  were  in 
clined  to  take  the  veil ;  and  to  augment  the  number 
of  the  nuns,  it  was  proposed  to  receive  those  who 
belonged  to  Spanish  families ;  but  as  the  number 
of  the  latter  gradually  augmented,  they  took  the 
control  of  the  convent,  and  refused  to  receive,  in 
the  character  of  nuns,  any  more  inmates  of  Indian 
extraction ;  and  it  is  only  in  case  of  great  impor 
tunity  that  they  condescend  to  receive  them  as 


92  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

laics,  that  is,  as  maid-servants,  with  the  privilege 
of  wearing  the  habit  of  the  order.  Several  ca 
ciques  (and  among  them  one  who  would  not  con 
sent  that  his  daughter  should  take  the  habit  of  a 
laic,  instead  of  the  black  veil,  and  who  met  with 
opposition  from  the  other  nuns)  presented  their  com 
plaints  to  the  Audience,  entreating  the  protector  to 
defend  their  suit ;  but  they  failed  to  obtain  redress, 
not  being  able  to  find  either  in  the  courts  or  in  the 
protector  the  justice  and  protection  they  desired. 
In  this  way  they  lost  the  privilege  of  having  their 
daughters  admitted  as  nuns  in  the  only  convent 
that  had  been  constructed  for  their  benefit.  The 
result  is  the  same  in  every  thing  relative  to  their 
privileges  and  immunities,  for  the  disadvantage  is 
always  on  their  side ;  this  infringement  of  their 
rights  depending  on  the  want  of  patronage  on  the 
part  of  the  protector. 

In  proof  of  our  assertion  that  it  is  against  the 
Indian  that  the  persecution  is  directed,  and  upon 
him  that  the  weight  of  injustice  falls  most  heavily, 
although  we  regard  the  statements  already  made 
as  quite  sufficient  to  convince  every  one  of  the 
facts  in  question,  we  think  it  proper  to  add  what 
took  place  in  respect  to  the  Indians  under  our  own 
observation. 

In  1741,  when  Vice  Admiral  Anson  laid  waste 
Payta,  with  a  view  to  defend  the  port  of  Atacames 
and  to  protect  the  road  just  opened  to  Esmeraldas, 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  93 

felons  and  culprits  were  released  from  prison,  and 
sent  thither  from  Quito,  and,  being  divided  into 
several  companies,  some  were  destined  for  Guaya 
quil,  and  others  for  Atacames  and  Esmeraldas.* 
In  order  to  transport  these  troops  and  carry  the 
necessary  supplies,  the  mules  were  seized  with 
their  drivers  for  this  purpose  ;  and  as  the  end  pro 
posed  was  the  service  of  the  king  and  the  common 
cause  of  the  country,  it  was  determined  that  no 
compensation  should  be  made  to  the  owners. 
This  measure  would  not  have  been  ill  judged  if, 
as  it  comprised  the  Indians,  it  had  been  made  to 
extend  equally  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Quito  and 
other  wealthy  towns,  where  large  droves  are  pas 
tured  on  the  estates  to  carry  the  produce  to  market ; 


*  It  is  still  customary  to  employ  the  mules  of  the  Indians 
at  a  reduced  price  in  the  service  of  the  government.  When 
Mr.  Pickett,  late  commissioner  to  Quito,  arrived  at  Baba- 
hoyo,  in  1838,  he  applied  to  the  governor  for  pack  mules 
to  facilitate  his  journey  to  Quito.  The  same  evening,  he  ob 
served  that  the  number  he  had  asked  for  were  placed  in  an 
enclosure  near  his  lodgings ;  but,  having  noticed  the  mu 
leteers  standing  at  the  gate,  he  went  out  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  it.  He  was  told  that  they  had  sold  their  vegetables 
in  the  port,  and  were  to  take  in  exchange  a  quantity  of  salt, 
an  article  which  some  in  the  interior  never  taste,  on  account 
of  its  scarcity.  The  commissioner,  moved  with  pity,  in 
formed  the  governor  that  he  should  not  accept  the  mules  on 
such  conditions,  but  should  restore  them  to  their  owners. 
The  result  was,  that  they  were  immediately  laid  hold  of  for 
the  benefit  of  a  less  scrupulous  traveller.  Even  unsuccessful 
efforts  to  do  justice  are  worth  recording.  —  TE. 


94  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

but,  although  it  might  have  been  so  intended, 
it  was  not  executed  in  that  equitable  manner ;  for 
not  only  the  clergy,  but  those  of  the  laity,  who 
had  a  greater  interest  than  other  classes  in  the 
defence  and  safety  of  their  country  and  wealth, 
resisted  the  order,  and  excused  themselves,  some 
alleging  their  immunities  as  ecclesiastics,  and 
others  the  dignity  of  their  rank,  the  whole  burden 
falling  ultimately  upon  the  Indian,  to  aggravate 
his  misery.  These  poor  men,  whose  whole  stock 
consists  of  four  or  six  mules  distributed  to  them  by 
the  corregidor,  and  whose  service  furnishes  them  a 
support,  as  well  as  the  means  of  paying  the  trib 
ute,  were  by  these  measures  deprived  of  this  tri 
fling  source  of  profit.  They  were  compelled  to 
perform  the  journey,  and,  owing  to  the  roughnesses 
of  the  road,  the  mules  became  exhausted  and  in 
capable  of  travelling ;  to  this  result  the  change  of 
climate  contributed  not  a  little,  for  those  animals, 
being  accustomed  to  the  cold  paramos  or  heaths 
of  the  Province  of  Quito,  had  to  undergo  the  heat 
and  continual  moisture  of  the  forests  which  lay  on 
their  route.  So  great  was  the  destruction  of 
mules  on  that  occasion,  that  not  a  twentieth  part 
of  those  who  set  out  on  their  journey  reached  their 
destination,  and  those  which  returned  from  the 
coast  perished  in  passing  through  the  forests  of 
Esmeraldas,  some  before  and  others  after  they 
had  reached  the  paramo,  so  that  the  loss  to  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  95 

owners  was  total,  and  without  any  indemnity  for 
their  hire  or  for  the  expense  of  the  journey.  It  is 
easy  to  imagine  in  what  condition  these  wretched 
men  were  left,  for,  as  they  have  no  other  occupa 
tion  than  that  of  mule-drivers,  and  possess  no 
other  resources  than  the  hire  of  their  mules,  they 
were  deprived  even  of  the  hope  either  of  recover 
ing  their  loss,  of  supporting  their  families,  or  of 
paying  their  annual  contribution. 

The  existence  of  these  evils  being  admitted,  it 
remains  to  be  seen  whether  any  remedy  can  be 
devised  ;  and,  as  it  is  undeniable  that  they  originate 
in  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  Indian  protectors,  we 
shall  consider  the  two  causes  from  which,  in  our 
opinion,  this  want  of  fidelity  proceeds.  The  first 
is,  the  fixed  determination  of  all  who  go  to  Amer 
ica,  holding  public  stations,  to  amass  a  fortune, 
without  scruple  as  to  the  means  used  ;  for  the 
Indian  advocates  are  not  in  general  less  eager 
than  others  in  their  desires  to  accumulate  wealth. 
The  second  cause  is,  that  these  functionaries  are 
not  ordinarily  acquainted  with  the  language  of 
those  tribes  in  whose  behalf  they  are  employed  — 
an  acquisition  quite  as  necessary  to  them  as  it  is 
to  the  parish  priests  ;  nor  will  a  superficial  knowl 
edge  be  sufficient,  for,  as  the  language  of  the  In 
dians  abounds  in  figures  and  allegory,  in  order  to 
the  right  understanding  of  these,  a  thorough  knowl 
edge  of  their  idiom  is  indispensable.  Such  being 


96  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  case,  only  one  resource  occurs  to  us,  which 
will  excite  surprise,  merely  because  it  has  never 
been  reduced  to  practice  ;  and  this  is,  that  the  va 
cancies  of  the  fiscal  advocates,  together  with  the 
titles,  authority,  and  privileges  annexed  to  them, 
should  be  filled  by  the  eldest  sons  of  the  caciques. 
This  idea,  which  at  first  view  may  appear  mon 
strous,  as  it  has  never  before  been  suggested,  and 
as  it  is  apparently  liable  to  serious  objections,  will, 
when  viewed  more  nearly,  be  stripped  of  its 
imaginary  terrors ;  for,  after  mature  reflection,  it 
will  be  found  to  have  so  much  weight  as  not  only 
to  remove  every  objection,  but  to  recommend  it 
self  as  the  only  effectual  means  of  securing  the 
due  accomplishment  of  the  laws,  so  wisely  enacted 
by  our  sovereigns  in  favor  of  the  Indians.  By  this 
means  only  would  they  be  protected  against  the 
unrestrained  warfare  now  carried  on  against  them 
by  their  corregidors,  as  well  as  from  the  lawless 
impositions  of  the  parish  priests  and  the  inhuman 
outrages  committed  upon  them  by  landholders, 
mestizoes,  and  other  petty  tyrants.  We  shall  be 
met  at  once  with  the  first  objection  and  the  most 
powerful  one  which  the  avarice  of  their  oppressors 
has  to  advance  against  so  admirable  a  provision  ; 
for,  as  it  in  no  wise  tends  to  their  emolument,  they 
would  be  eager  to  assail  it  with  atrocious  false 
hoods,  in  order  to  perpetuate  their  tyranny. 

The  first  measure  employed  to  displace  these 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  97 

protectors  would  be,  to  allege  that  the  Indians, 
availing  themselves  of  the  authority  and  protection 
conceded  to  them,  would  cast  off  fear,  and  rise  in 
rebellion,  constituting  to  themselves  a  king  of  their 
own  nation.  This  is  the  phantom  invented  to  in 
timidate,  in  order  that  no  innovations  should  be 
made  in  the  government  which  they  have  so  in- 
iquitously  instituted  ;  but  these  imaginary  fears 
would  have  no  influence  in  the  minds  of  the  sec 
retaries  in  Spain,  if  they  had  an  accurate  idea  of 
the  peculiarities,  the  nature,  and  genius  of  the  In 
dians,  who  are  by  no  means  predisposed  to  riots 
or  insurrections.  Nothing  proves  this  assertion 
more  clearly  than  a  view  of  the  imposts  heaped 
upon  them  by  caprice,  to  which  they  submit  with 
out  having  their  minds  irritated,  or  affected  by  any 
other  emotion  than  that  of  grief,  which  is  inherent 
in  beings  of  a  mild  and  childlike  disposition.  True 
it  is  that,  when  once  got  into  the  fray,  —  as  the 
phrase  is  there,  —  they  are  not  intimidated  by  chas 
tisement  or  death  ;  all  means  of  reconciliation  are 
unavailing,  until  they  are  exterminated  ;  but  this 
arises  from  the  fact  that,  when  they  are  driven  to 
these  desperate  resolutions,  they  count  it  a  greater 
happiness  to  die  in  the  onset  than  to  return  again 
to  a  state  of  bondage.  Hence  it  is  that  those  who 
once  rebel,  and  abandon  their  villages,  cannot  be 
reconquered  or  held  again  in  subordination ;  the 
truth  of  which  we  experience  in  the  Araucanian 
9 


98  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Indians  of  Chili,  the  inhabitants  of  Quixos  and 
Mac  as,  frontiers  of  the  Province  of  Quito,  and 
lastly,  in  the  Chunchos,  all  of  whom  have  thrown 
off  their  allegiance  to  their  sovereign. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  firm  basis  on  which 
this  opinion  is  founded,  we  have  only  to  look  back 
to  the  last  rebellion  of  the  Indians  of  the  modern 
missions,  bordering  on  the  Provinces  of  Jauja  and 
Tarma.  Although  it  had  been  in  contemplation 
for  forty  years,  it  was  confined  at  its  commence 
ment  to  two  thousand  Indians,  and  the  grand  mo 
tive  which  induced  them  to  throw  off  their  allegi 
ance  was  to  rid  themselves  of  the  vexations  and 
persecutions  of  the  parish  priests ;  for,  not  having 
been  as  yet  subject  to  tribute,  the  argument  em 
ployed  by  their  chief  to  entice  them  was,  that  he 
wished  only  to  rescue  them  from  the  oppression  of 
the  Spaniards.  Had  they  been  a  people  inclined 
to  revolt,  not  an  Indian  would  have  remained  in 
all  the  settlements  of  Peru,  but  they  would  all 
have  gone  over  to  the  rebel  party,  so  much  have 
they  to  undergo,  and  such  is  the  cruelty  and  con 
tempt  with  which  they  are  treated.  Should  any 
doubt  still  remain  on  this  point,  let  the  masses  of  that 
nation  be  compared  with  those  in  Europe,  where 
there  is  scarcely  a  demagogue  who  raises  a  cry  in 
any  province  but  he  is  instantly  joined  by  a  greater 
part  of  the  population,  and  we  shall  see  how  di 
verse  from  this  is  the  spirit  of  the  Indians,  in  spite 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  99 

of  the  oppression  they  are  made  to  suffer.  But  to 
form  a  more  accurate  idea  of  what  we  have  just 
advanced,  we  shall  relate  an  occurrence  which 
took  place  during  our  residence  in  Quito,  and 
which  will  be  sufficient  to  confirm  the  truth  of  it. 
In  the  jurisdiction  of  Ibarra,  in  the  town  of 
Mira,  there  lived  a  parish  priest  with  whom  we  had 
some  degree  of  friendly  intercourse ;  he  was  also 
one  of  the  many  in  whom  the  passion  of  avarice 
predominates  with  unbridled  excess  ;  and  although 
recently  presented  to  the  benefice,  he  sought  to 
oppress  the  Indians  by  attempting  to  strip  them  of 
all  their  lands,  and  to  make  them  over  to  himself. 
His  ambition  appears  to  have  had  no  bounds,  inas 
much  as  he  obliged  the  owners  of  the  lands  to  cul 
tivate  them,  by  converting  their  personal  labor  to 
his  own  emolument.  The  Indians  became  so  strait 
ened  by  these  and  many  other  acts  of  extortion, 
and  the  cacique  finding  that  the  tyranny  of  the 
priest  had  driven  the  people  to  desperation,  went 
to  Quito,  to  present  a  complaint  to  the  bishop.  It 
appeared  to  that  prelate,  who  had  a  sense  of  jus 
tice,  that  a  severe  admonition  would  suffice  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  encroachments  of  the  priest;  but 
quite  the  contrary  took  place  ;  for,  being  enraged 
at  the  rebuke,  he  hurled  his  vengeance  upon  the 
cacique,  and  accused  him  of  a  project  of  rebellion, 
with  a  view  to  proceed  with  other  Indians  to  the 
mountains,  and  thus  depopulate  the  village.  He 


100  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

sent  up  this  false  summary  to  the  Audience  ;  and, 
hoping  to  provoke  the  cacique  to  some  imprudent 
act,  which  would  justify  the  measure,  he  laid  hold 
of  his  eldest  son  and  made  him  a  servant,  sending 
him  out  to  do  the  office  of  stable  boy.  The  ca 
cique  was  exceedingly  wounded  by  this  insult,  but 
did  not  vent  his  anger  in  the  way  the  curate  sup 
posed  he  would  ;  but,  anxious  to  avenge  his  honor 
by  a  legal  process,  he  proceeded  to  Quito,  pre 
sented  himself  before  the  Audience,  taking  with 
him  some  Indians  as  witnesses,  and  acquitted  him 
self  of  the  charge  so  maliciously  preferred  against 
him  by  the  priest.  He  complained  before  the  tri 
bunal  of  the  dreadful  outrages  committed  by  the 
priest,  not  only  against  Azm,  but  against  all  the  In 
dians  of  his  chiefdom,  and  of  that  which  he  had 
just  been  guilty  of  in  degrading  his  eldest  son  to 
such  a  low  station.  The  Audience  referred  these 
just  complaints  to  the  bishop,  that  he  might  enter 
a  suit  against  the  priest.  The  bishop  summoned 
him  to  appear,  and  rebuked  him  with  still  greater 
severity,  commanding  him  to  give  satisfaction  to 
the  offended  cacique,  and  to  reform  his  conduct. 
The  revengeful  priest  promised  so  to  do,  and  the 
bishop,  believing  his  feigned  show  of  repentance 
to  be  sincere,  gave  him  a  license,  after  some  days, 
to  return  to  his  curacy. 

The  priest  set  out  to  go  to  his  village,  and  had 
scarcely  arrived,  when  he  sent  for  the  cacique,  to 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  101 

execute  upon  him  his  premeditated  vengeance. 
The  cacique  promptly  appeared  before  him,  and 
the  priest,  bursting  with  rage,  ordered  him  to  lie 
down  on  the  floor,  as  he  would  a  slave  whom  he 
was  going  to  punish, —  insulting,  by  such  vile 
treatment,  the  person,  the  dignity,  and  the  ad 
vanced  age  of  the  cacique,  —  telling  him  after 
wards  that  he  did  all  that  to  let  him  know 
the  consequences  of  having  presented  complaints 
against  the  priesthood.  The  abashed  cacique 
removed  from  that  town  to  another  of  the  same 
department,  and  despatched  several  Indians  to 
Quito  to  lay  before  the  Audience  the  inefficacy 
of  the  measures  they  had  adopted.  About  this 
time  we  arrived  at  Mira,  and  the  Indians  of  the 
town  communicated  to  us  all  that  had  taken  place  ; 
but  nothing  wounded  the  cacique  more  deeply 
than  having  had  imputed  to  him  falsely  the  charge 
of  rebellion,  thereby  fastening  upon  him  the  infa 
mous  blot  of  treason,  and  he  inquired  with  great 
discretion  for  what  cause  he  was  to  offend  his  lord 
the  king  by  an  act  of  rebellion,  when  he  had  re 
ceived  such  favors  from  his  royal  clemency,  and 
when  it  was  the  curate  only  who  did  him  the 
wrong ;  or  how  he  could  commit  a  base  act  to 
compromise  his  honor  and  fidelity,  that  the  curate 
might  triumph  at  the  expense  of  his  reputation 
and  good  conduct.  This  he  repeated  to  us  again, 
and  uniformly  held  the  same  language  to  his 
9* 


102  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

townsmen,  as  we  have  heard  them  frequently  say. 
In  view  of  the  last  complaint  made  by  the  injured 
cacique,  and  of  others,  presented  by  the  Spaniards 
and  mestizoes  of  the  town,  the  Audience  named  a 
judge  to  make  an  investigation  and  substantiate 
what  had  there  occurred,  the  bishop  having  previ 
ously  named  a  substitute  for  that  curacy.  The 
attorney  came  to  reside  at  the  farm-house  where 
we  had  taken  up  our  quarters,  and  the  proceedings 
were  instituted  with  great  formality,  inasmuch  as 
the  whole  vicinity  were  comprised  in  the  aggres 
sions  of  the  curate ;  for  had  the  Indians  alone 
been  the  sufferers,  there  is  no  doubt  but  injustice 
would  have  triumphed.  We  returned  to  Quito, 
and  as  we  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
the  bishop,  he  begged  us,  when  we  visited  him,  to 
acquaint  us  with  the  truth :  we  did  so,  and  that 
prelate  was  deeply  affected  with  the  extreme  suf 
ferings  of  the  Indians,  assuring  us  that,  while  he 
held  the  office,  that  priest  should  return  neither  to 
the  curacy  of  Mira  nor  to  any  other,  notwithstanding 
many  proofs  of  consideration  which  the  bishop 
had  shown  him  previous  to  that  unrighteous  act. 
In  fine,  the  cacique  and  the  Indians  owed  their  ac 
quittal  to  the  accidental  visit  we  made  there,  having 
been  ourselves  eye-witnesses  of  his  bad  conduct  — 
a  circumstance  without  which,  notwithstanding  the 
excess  to  which  he  carried  his  tyranny,  the  priest 
would  have  repelled  all  the  charges  alleged  against 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  103 

him,  the  Indians  would  have  remained  in  a  worse 
condition  than  before,  and  the  cacique  under  the 
odious  imputation  of  treasonable  designs. 

Let  us  reflect,  now,  whether  the  suffering  under 
gone  by  this  cacique  and  his  Indians  would  not 
have  been  sufficient,  in  any  other  tribe  less  unre 
sisting  and  more  warlike  and  turbulent,  to  stir 
them  up  to  insurrection,  and  to  take  vengeance  on 
the  priest  for  themselves  ;  and  the  more  so,  when 
there  was  no  one  in  that  village  who  could  with 
stand  them  ;  and  should  not  this  be  the  case,  would 
it  be  possible  to  impede  their  penetrating  as  far  as 
the  Andes,  had  they  wished  to  do  so,  especially  as 
this  chain  of  mountains  is  so  contiguous  to  that 
village,  that,  within  four  hours'  time,  they  could 
have  made  their  escape  to  a  free  country,  inhabited 
by  Gentile  Indians  —  a  distance  which  would  be  to 
those  natives  only  what  it  is  to  us  to  cross  a  street  ? 
No  doubt  can  remain  that  their  not  having  done  it 
at  that  time  was  the  effect  of  their  passiveness  and 
loyalty.  Being  then  no  longer  able  to  submit  to 
such  injustice  and  cruelty,  they  abandoned  their 
villages  and  wretched  huts,  and  spread  themselves 
over  others  belonging  to  the  same  jurisdiction,  al 
lowing  time  for  the  fearful  tempest  which  had 
been  raised  against  them  to  subside.  In  view  of 
this,  we  cannot  entertain  the  belief  that  they  would 
be  guilty  of  treason,  under  a  less  rigorous  system 
of  government,  when  we  find  they  are  not  so,  in 


104  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

spite  of  so  many  injuries  and  provocations  ;  for 
how  can  we  believe  that  cruelty  or  severity  should 
inspire  them  with  sentiments  of  loyalty  and  love  to 
their  king,  and  that  kind  treatment  should  trans 
form  them  into  rebels  —  above  all,  when  they  are 
so  fond  of  attention  and  caresses,  that  they  ac 
count  it  an  excess  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  a 
master,  when  he  throws  them  the  fragments  of 
what  he  has  partaken  of  himself,  esteeming  as 
they  do  a  morsel  of  bread  bitten  by  his  mouth,  or 
the  licking  of  a  plate  from  which  he  has  eaten, 
more  than  a  handful  of  viands  which  he  has  not 
touched  ?  It  is  regarded  by  them  as  a  mark  of  es 
teem  on  the  part  of  those  whom  they  serve  to  have 
assigned  them  a  place  near  to  themselves,  to  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  lying  upon  the  floor,  near  to  the 
foot  of  their  master's  bed  ;  even  any  circumstance, 
however  trivial,  which  argues  a  feeling  of  regard, 
is  to  them  a  matter  of  satisfaction  and  boasting. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  turn  our  attention  to 
their  loyalty,  we  shall  find  no  nation  in  the  world 
who  speak  of  their  sovereign  with  more  respect 
and  veneration.  They  never  take  his  name  into 
their  mouths  without  prefixing  the  title  of  Lord,  as 
we  have  already  observed ;  at  the  same  time  un 
covering  their  heads,  a  ceremony  which  neither 
the  parish  priests  nor  the  governors  have  taught 
them,  for  these  do  not  put  it  in  practice,  nor  have 
they  seen  the  example  in  any  Spaniard,  and  yet 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  105 

they  never  fail  to  be  scrupulous  in  the  observance 
of  it.  Their  usual  mode  of  address  is,  "  the  Lord 
King,"  and  sometimes,  agreeably  to  the  subject, 
"  our  Lord  the  King,"  as  if  it  were  irreverent  to 
speak  of  the  sovereign  in  any  other  manner. 
Doubtless  this  is  owing  to  the  fact,  that,  having 
heard  the  titles,  Lord  Viceroy,  Lord  President,  Lord 
Bishop,  (this  being  an  established  usage  in  those 
countries,)  they  have  persuaded  themselves,  and 
not  without  reason,  that  if  such  respect  is  due  to 
subjects,  it  is  much  more  becoming  to  observe  it 
towards  a  sovereign.  All  this  manifests  the  ven 
eration,  esteem,  and  love  with  which  they  treat  his 
Majesty,  and  it  is  a  thing  worthy  of  admiration  in 
a  tribe  so  rude  and  so  destitute  of  mental  culture, 
and  who  have  come  to  know  only  by  information 
from  a  distant  source  that  they  have  a  king  ;  and 
hence  it  is  that  they  become  more  entitled  to  have 
their  loyalty  and  love  to  their  prince  rewarded  by 
kind  and  humane  treatment,  as  well  as  by  marks 
of  esteem,  when  they  have  not  rendered  them 
selves  unworthy  of  it  by  any  improper  behavior. 

Should  any  apprehension  of  a  rebellion  exist 
on  the  part  of  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  south 
ern  countries,  it  ought  to  fall  on  the  Creoles  or 
mestizoes,  who  are  the  chief  cause  of  tumults, 
addicted  as  they  are  to  idleness,  and  wholly  aban 
doned  to  vice  ;  but  as  we  are  to  treat  of  this  sub 
ject  more  in  detail,  we  shall  leave  it  for  the  chapter 
to  which  it  corresponds. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Extortions  which  the  Indians  suffer  from  the  Parish  Priests. 
—  Corrupt  Morals  and  scandalous  Life  of  the  Clergy,  both 
secular  and  regular. 

IN  view  of  all  that  has  been  said  relative  to  the 
rapacity  of  the  corregidors  in  their  unjust  repar- 
timientos,  the  barbarity  of  the  meta,  the  sequestra 
tion  of  landed  property,  want  of  protection  in  the 
courts  of  justice,  and  the  rapid  diminution  of  the 
Indians,  occasioned  by  unremitted  toil  while  they 
are  in  health,  and  in  the  utter  want  of  resource  in 
time  of  sickness,  it  appears  as  if  a  greater  degree 
of  wretchedness  could  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  this 
people,  or  that  the  burdens  under  which  they 
already  groan  would  be  sufficient  to  crush  them. 
But  as  they  are  found  to  have  strength  to  suffer  in 
necessity,  and  a  disposition,  owing  to  the  simplici 
ty  of  their  nature,  to  submit  to  authority,  the  re 
sources  of  avarice  are  never  exhausted,  and  the 
desire  of  domineering  is  never  satisfied  ;  and  the 
result  is,  that  even  those  from  whom  they  ought  to 
receive  consolation,  and  to  whom  they  are  to  look 
for  redress,  impose  upon  them  still  heavier  bur 
dens,  render  their  sufferings  more  acute,  and  drive 
them  to  the  very  verge  of  despair. 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       107 

All  these  calamities  are  brought  upon  the  In 
dians  by  their  parish  priests,  who,  while  they 
should  be  their  spiritual  fathers  and  their  pro 
tectors  against  the  unrighteous  extortions  of  the 
corregidors,  do  themselves  go  hand  in  hand  with 
the  latter  to  wrest  from  the  poor  Indian  the  fruit 
of  his  incessant  toil,  even  at  the  cost  of  the  blood 
and  sweat  of  a  tribe  whose  condition  is  so  deplora 
ble  that,  while  they  have  abundant  means  to  en 
rich  and  aggrandize  others,  are  destitute  of  a 
scanty  allowance  of  bread  for  their  own  meagre 
sustenance.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  men 
tioned  incidentally  the  avarice  of  that  unfeeling 
priest  who  not  only  oppressed  his  parishioners  until 
his  tyranny  became  insupportable,  obliging  them 
to  abandon  their  wretched  hovels  as  soon  as  he 
learnt  the  complaints  which  the  chief  had  mod 
estly  laid  before  the  bishop  and  Court  of  Audience, 
but  forged  to  this  prelate,  for  malicious  purposes,  a 
heap  of  charges,  the  very  idea  of  which  made 
that  noble  and  respectable  Indian  shudder.  This 
is  the  reason  why  the  corregidors  accuse  the  chiefs 
with  impunity,  when  they  endeavor  to  resist  the 
endless  extortions  made  upon  their  villages,  name 
ly,  that  the  curates  cannot  confront  them  at  the 
tribunal,  because  they  are  even  more  guilty  than 
they,  by  using  artifices  no  less  iniquitous,  and  im 
posing  taxes  no  less  unjust. 

The  curacies  of  Peru  are  of  two  sorts  —  some 


108  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

of  them  being  superintended  by  a  bishop,  and 
others  by  the  provincial  of  one  of  the  religious 
orders.  In  the  former,  appointments  are  made  by 
wrangling,  or  a  public  disputation,  and  the  dispu 
tants  are  required  to  undergo  an  examination  in 
the  language  of  the  Inca,  by  which  is  meant  the 
language  of  all  the  Indians  of  Peru.  The  wran 
gling  for  presentation  to  vacant  curacies  being  con 
cluded,  the  proceedings  of  which  are  held  in  the 
palace  of  the  bishop,  in  presence  of  the  dignita 
ries  of  the  church,  who  sit  as  judges,  the  votes  are 
taken,  and  the  bishop  makes  a  list  of  those  who 
have  most  distinguished  themselves,  of  which 
number  he  selects  three  for  each  curacy,  one  of 
whom  is  afterwards  nominated  by  the  viceroy  or 
president,  who  delivers  him  the  credentials  or  de 
spatches  to  which  he  is  entitled. 

As  soon  as  the  parish  priests  are  promoted  to 
their  cures,  they  usually  bend  all  their  efforts  to 
amassing  wealth ;  and  for  this  purpose  they  have 
devised  various  measures,  by  which  they  appropri 
ate  to  themselves  the  pittance  which  may  have 
remained  to  the  Indian,  and  which  has  escaped  the 
rapacity  of  the  corregidor.  One  of  their  devices 
is  that  of  the  fraternities,  and  they  have  formed 
such  a  number  of  them  in  every  village  that  every 
corner  of  the  churches  is  filled  with  images,  and 
each  of  these  has  its  corresponding  fraternity; 
and  in  order  not  to  withdraw  the  Indians  from  their 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  109 

tasks,  the  celebration  of  those  saints'  days  which 
occur  during  week-time  is  postponed  to  the  follow 
ing  Sunday. 

The  Sunday  at  length  arrives  on  which  a  saint's 
festival  is  to  be  celebrated,  and  the  sum  of  four 
dollars  and  a  half  is  to  be  collected  by  the  over 
seers,  which  is  the  fee  for  high  mass,  and  an  equal 
amount  for  the  sermon,  which  consists  in  merely 
repeating  four  words  in  praise  of  the  saint,  without 
any  other  labor  or  study  than  enunciating  in  the 
Peruvian  language  the  first  thing  that  suggests 
itself  to  the  mind ;  and  when  this  is  over,  the  In 
dians  are  required  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
procession,  the  wax,  and  the  incense.  All  this  is 
to  be  paid  in  ready  money,  as  soon  as  the  fes 
tival  is  over,  (for  church  fees  are  always  to  be 
paid  instantly ;)  to  this  is  to  be  added  the  custom 
ary  offering  which  the  overseers  are  compelled  to 
make  to  the  curate  on  every  saint's  festival,  which 
consists  of  two  or  three  dozen  hens,  as  many 
chickens,  guinea  pigs,  eggs,  sheep,  and  a  hog,  if 
they  happen  to  have  any  ;  so  that  when  the  saint's 
day  arrives,  the  curate  sweeps  off  all  that  the  In 
dian  has  been  able  to  collect  in  money  during  the 
whole  year,  and  also  all  the  fowls  and  animals 
which  his  wife  and  children  have  reared  in  their 
huts,  so  that  his  family  are  left  wholly  destitute  of 
food,  or  have  no  other  aliment  than  wild  roots  or 
plants  which  they  cultivate  in  their  small  gardens. 
10 


110  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

The  Indian  who  has  not  been  able  to  rear  a  suffi 
cient  number  of  animals  for  the  customary  offer 
ing,  is  bound  of  necessity  to  purchase  them  ;  and 
should  he  not  have  the  money,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  he  is  to  take  it  upon  a  pledge,  or  hire  it  for 
the  time  required,  in  order  to  obtain  it  and  pay  it 
without  delay.  As  soon  as  the  sermon  of  the 
day  is  concluded,  the  curate  reads  a  paper  on 
which  he  has  inscribed  the  names  of  those  who 
are  to  be  masters  of  ceremonies  for  the  festival 
of  the  following  year,  and  if  any  one  does  not 
accept  it  of  his  free  will,  he  is  forced  to  give  his 
consent  by  dint  of  blows ;  and  when  his  day 
comes,  there  is  no  apology  that  can  exonerate 
him  from  having  the  money  ready ;  for,  until  it  is 
all  collected  and  delivered  to  the  curate,  mass  is 
not  said,  the  sermon  is  not  preachj^,  and  the  whole 
service  is  deferred  until  three  oqfiour  in  the  after 
noon,  if  necessary,  to  allow  time  to  collect  the 
amount,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  observe  re 
peatedly. 

In  order  to  be  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  excess  to  which  this  is  carried,  and  the  enor 
mous  profits  made  by  the  curates  at  these  festivals, 
it  seems  proper  to  mention  here  what  a  curate  of 
the  Province  of  Quito  told  us  as  we  were  passing 
through  his  curacy,  which  was,  that,  including  the 
festivals  and  the  commemoration  of  departed  souls, 
he  collected  every  year  more  than  two  hundred 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  Ill 

sheep,  six  thousand  hens  and  chickens,  four  thou 
sand  guinea  pigs,  and  fifty  thousand  eggs,  the 
record  of  which  is  preserved  as  it  was  originally 
written  in  our  manuscript.  It  should  be  remarked 
that  this  curacy  was  not  one  of  the  most  lucrative. 
Let  an  estimate,  then,  be  made  on  these  data  of 
the  amount  of  money  that  might  be  obtained, 
and  on  the  supposition  that  the  whole  is  raised 
from  a  nation  or  tribe  who  have  no  other  means 
of  gain  than  their  personal  labor,  or  a  very  re 
duced  salary  when  they  labor  for  others,  —  how  is 
it  possible  that  such  stipends  should  be  paid  to  the 
curates  ?  We  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
such  contributions  could  be  sustained  in  no  way 
but  by  tasking  to  the  utmost  not  only  men  and 
women,  but  a  whole  family,  in  order  to  exact  the 
payment  of  the  sum  total  of  their  earnings  during 
the  whole  year.* 

*  The  same  custom  prevails  still  throughout  the  Province 
of  Quito.  While  I  was  at  Otavalo,  a  gentleman  informed 
me  that  the  parish  priest  of  that  town  had  sold  the  offerings  for 
the  dead  (collected  in  November)  for  three  hundred  dollars. 

Being  on  a  tour  in  the  country  in  the  year  1835, 1  observed 
that  the  offerings  of  bread  and  various  articles  of  food  (such 
as  had  been  most  to  the  taste  of  the  deceased)  were  depos 
ited  near  the  grave.  On  further  inquiry,  I  learned  that  they 
were  afterwards  collected  and  sold  by  the  curate,  although 
the  deceased  was  supposed  to  have  partaken  of  the  sub 
stance  of  them.  A  gentleman  informed  me  that  he  had 
seen  a  bull  tied  near  the  grave  of  a  man  who  had  distin 
guished  himself  at  bull-fighting,  as  if  such  a  testimony  of 
remembrance  would  solace  his  departed  spirit.  —  TR. 


112  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Besides  the  feast  of  the  fraternity,  (for  some 
saint's  festival  never  fails  to  be  celebrated  every 
Sunday  and  holiday,)  they  have  that  of  All- 
Souls1  month,  when  it  is  required  of  every  Indian 
to  carry  his  offering  to  the  church,  which  consists 
of  the  same  articles  as  those  of  the  ordinary  feasts  ; 
and  after  they  are  placed  on  the  graves,  the  curate 
passes  round  to  say  a  response  over  each  of  them, 
while  his  servants  collect  the  offerings.  This  con 
tinues  the  whole  month  of  November ;  and  in 
order  to  have  no  day  omitted,  the  curate  divides 
them  among  the  estates  and  villages  annexed  to 
his  curacy ;  the  Indians  of  such  estates  or  villages 
meet  on  the  day  allotted  them,  and  besides  the 
offerings,  they  are  to  pay  the  alms  gift  usual  at 
mass.  What  takes  place  with  regard  to  the  wine 
deserves  more  particular  mention,  wine  being  one 
of  the  customary  offerings  for  the  dead  ;  but  that 
climate  does  not  produce  it,  and  it  is  very  difficult 
to  obtain  it  in  those  provinces  which  are  so  remote 
from  the  coast ;  ingenuity,  however,  has  devised 
means  of  supplying  the  want  of  it.  For  the  pur 
pose  in  question,  the  curate  orders  a  portion  of  that 
which  is  used  at  mass  to  be  put  in  one  or  two  bot 
tles,  and  it  is  hired  out,  at  two  or  three  reals,  (ac 
cording  to  the  quantity,)  to  the  first  Indian  woman 
who  stands  waiting  with  her  offering  to  have  a 
response  said  ;  and  when  this  is  done,  the  offering 
is  collected  in  baskets,  but  the  wine  (being  again 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  113 

hired  out)  passes  to  another  grave,  and  so  contin 
ues  to  make  the  whole  circuit  of  the  church,  earn 
ing  as  many  fees  as  there  are  graves,  this  process 
going  on  every  day  during  the  whole  month  of 
November. 

On  all  the  Sundays  on  which  the  "  doctrine  "  is 
prescribed  to  be  read  to  the  people  prior  to  mass, 
every  Indian  woman  is  to  carry  an  egg  to  the  cu 
rate,  as  the  statutes  require,  or  something  equiva 
lent  ;  but  in  addition  to  this,  which  is  the  whole 
extent  of  their  obligation,  the  curates  compel  the 
Indians  to  bring  to  them  each  a  bundle  of  sticks, 
while  the  Indian  boys  and  girls,  who  come  every 
afternoon  to  the  "  doctrine"  are  to  bring  a  truss 
of  hay,  according  to  the  measure  of  their  feeble 
ability,  to  feed  the  horses  and  cattle  which  belong 
to  the  parish  priest.  By  having  recourse  to  such 
methods,  they  have  no  occasion  to  spend  money 
for  any  thing ;  and  while  they  are  maintained  by 
the  Indians,  they  become  rich  at  their  expense,  for 
all  the  offerings  they  can  accumulate  are  sent  to 
market  to  the  neighboring  cities,  hamlets,  and 
mining  towns,  and  are  converted  into  money.  By 
these  means,  they  augment  the  revenue  of  a  cura 
cy  to  such  a  degree,  that,  although  the  customary 
fees  might  not  exceed  seven  or  eight  hundred 
dollars,  it  gives  them  an  income  of  five  or  six 
thousand  dollars  annually,  and  there  are  many 
which  greatly  exceed  that  amount.  But  all  which 
10* 


114  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

has  been  said  hitherto  scarce  deserves  to  be  named 
in  comparison  of  what  takes  place  in  curacies  held 
by  monks,  for  it  appears  as  if  in  these  the  spirit 
of  oppression  had  been  carried  to  its  utmost 
bounds.  This  arises  in  part  from  the  fact  that,  as 
these  priests  are  subject  to  be  removed,  they  en 
deavor  to  raise  in  the  mean  time  the  greatest 
amount  possible,  having  no  other  object  in  view 
than  to  retire  upon  an  estate,  after  their  term  of 
office  has  expired. 

As  it  respects  rotation  in  office,  two  methods 
are  adopted  :  one  is  practised  in  the  Province  of 
Quito,  which  is  that  of  declaring  vacancies  and 
filling  them  up  at  the  meeting  of  every  chapter ; 
the  other  obtains  in  all  the  rest  of  Peru,  where  the 
curates  are  allowed  to  hold  their  office  as  long  as 
they  wish,  unless  some  good  reason  be  assigned, 
which  may  make  it  necessary  to  depose  one  and 
substitute  another.  To  supply  these  vacancies,  no 
examination  is  requisite,  but  merely  the  form  of 
presenting  the  names  of  three  candidates  to  the 
provincial,  who  makes  choice  of  one,  as  he  does 
in  the  case  of  the  secular  clergy  ;  but  in  what  way 
soever  the  vacancy  be  filled,  the  curate  who 
comes  into  office,  or  who  continues  in  office,  must 
always  contribute  to  the  provincial  of  his  order 
the  amount  stipulated  for  each  curacy ;  and  should 
any  one  come  forward  and  offer  more,  the  resident 
curate  is  obliged  to  make  up  the  amount,  or  other- 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  115 

wise  the  vacancy  will  be  filled  by  his  competitor. 
The  sum  given  for  each  curacy  is  so  enormous  as 
to  exceed  all  credibility.  At  present  it  will  suffice 
to  say  that  this  is  based  upon  the  revenue  that  it 
can  be  made  to  yield.  This  tax  falls  directly 
upon  the  Indians ;  for,  in  addition  to  what  the  cu 
rate  expects  to  raise  for  his  own  benefit,  he  must 
likewise  raise  the  amount  to  be  contributed  to  the 
provincial ;  and  as  this  is  repeated  at  the  meeting 
of  every  chapter,  it  is  impossible  to  give  an  ade 
quate  idea  of  the  burdened  condition  of  the  In 
dians,  for  the  monks  are  more  cruel  and  oppressive 
than  the  secular  clergy.  The  measures  which  they 
resort  to  in  order  to  accumulate  wealth,  and  which, 
however  painful  the  task,  we  are  about  to  describe, 
may  offend  the  ear,  and  exceed  the  bounds  of 
credibility,  so  difficult  is  it  to  yield  our  assent  to 
them.  We  do  therefore  protest,  that,  in  regard  to 
every  statement  we  have  to  make,  nothing  has 
been  added,  and  nothing  has  been  exaggerated, 
and  we  have  always  scrupulously  observed  a  dis 
tinction  between  what  we  have  ourselves  seen  and 
what  we  have  learnt  by  report. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose,  that,  after  the  curates 
have  availed  themselves  as  far  as  possible  of  the 
service  of  the  Indians,  they  would  do  the  same  with 
the  Indian  women  and  children  ;  for  which  purpose, 
while  the  priest  on  his  part  keeps  the  "  mill  at 
work,"  (this  is  another  phrase  for  tyranny,  as  used 


116  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

by  the  curates,)  he  instructs  his  concubine  to  do  the 
same  on  her  part.  This  woman,  who  is  known  as 
such,  and  without  exciting  surprise,  because  it  is 
every  where  so  common,  takes  under  her  charge  all 
the  Indian  women  and  children,  and,  converting  the 
whole  village  into  a  manufactory,  she  assigns  to 
some,  tasks  in  spinning  wool  or  cotton,  and  to  oth 
ers,  pieces  for  weaving  ;  and  to  the  aged,  and  to 
those  who  are  incapable  of  performing  this  service, 
she  gives  hens,  and  imposes  on  them  the  obligation 
of  delivering  to  her,  within  a  definite  time,  ten  or 
twelve  chickens  for  each  one  ;  it  being  their  duty 
to  feed,,  them  at  their  own  expense,  and,  if  they 
should  die,  to  replace  them  with  others  ;  and  by 
these  means  no  one  is  exempted  from  contributing 
something  to  the  revenue  of  the  curate. 

His  own  farm  is  to  be  cultivated  on  Sundays  and 
holidays,  and  for  this  purpose  some  one  of  the  In 
dians  must  be  present  with  his  cattle,  and  those  who 
have  none  must  appear  in  person  ;  and  they  per 
form  the  operations  of  sowing,  harrowing,  and 
reaping,  at  no  greater  cost  than  a  mere  word  of 
command.  Thus,  on  those  days  which  God  re 
quires  to  be  wholly  devoted  to  his  service  and  ado 
ration,  that  all  may  rest  from  the  labors  of  the 
week,  the  curate  relaxes  the  obligation  of  a  solemn 
precept  for  his  own  emolument,  or  for  the  benefit 
of  a  concubine ;  and  because  these  things  are  so 
repugnant  to  reason  as  to  become  incredible,  we 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  117 

shall  cite  an  example,  of  which  one  of  us  was  an 
eye-witness,  in  order  that  the  statements  which  fol 
low  may  not  be  regarded  with  distrust.* 

It  is  customary,  in  all  the  curacies,  to  apportion 
the  days  of  Lent  among  all  the  estates  in  the  dis 
trict,  in  order  that  they  may  send  their  Indians  to 
confession,  at  the  time  prescribed  by  the  church. 
In  the  year  1744,  one  of  our  company  was  re 
siding  on  the  estate  of  Colimbuela,  near  to  a  moun 
tain  pass  where  we  had  to  make  observations  in 
the  Province  of  Quito,  and  not  far  from  a  curacy, 
to  which  its  spiritual  jurisdiction  belonged  ;  and 
on  this  account  he  went  to  that  village  to  hear 
mass  on  a  feast  day,  where  he  found  assembled  a 
number  of  Indians  of  the  same  estate,  to  make 
confession  ;  but  the  priest,  instead  of  administering 
to  them  this  sacrament,  kept  both  the  men  and 
women  in  constant  employment —  the  latter  in  the 
corridors  of  the  yard,  where  they  were  weaving 
the  tasks  of  cotton  and  wool,  which  had  been  as 
signed  them  by  the  lady  of  the  curate,  and  the 
former,  in  ploughing  and  sowing  the  fields,  so  that 

*  In  the  year  1836,  I  spent  a  few  days  in  Cotocollo,  a 
beautiful  country  town  in  the  vicinity  of  Quito.  On  Sunday 
morning,  I  observed  a  number  of  Indians  working  silently 
in  the  neighborhood  of  a  farm-house.  On  expressing  my 
surprise  that  no  day  of  rest  should  be  allowed  to  the  Indians, 
I  was  told  that  the  field  belonged  to  the  curate,  who  claimed 
the  right  to  set  aside  the  divine  precept,  when  any  service 
was  to  be  performed  for  the  good  of  the  church.  —  TR. 


118  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

they  had  been  at  work  the  whole  day,  mass  having 
been  said  at  a  very  early  hour,  in  order  to  gain 
time.  The  overseer  of  the  estate,  who  happened 
to  be  in  the  village  that  day,  remarked  that  after 
they  had  concluded  their  tasks  they  went  home, 
but  that  he  did  not  know  the  manner  or  time  in 
which  the  curate  confessed  them,  assuring  him 
that  this  practice  was  generally  adopted  in  respect 
to  the  Indians  of  the  other  estates ;  and  thus, 
during  the  whole  period  of  Lent,  and  for  a  month 
and  a  half  following,  the  priest  enjoyed  the  same 
advantage,  having  at  his  disposal  as  many  Indians 
as  he  required. 

What  occasioned  greater  scandal  was,  that  those 
who  made  up  the  choii*  of  the  church  were  busy 
at  weaving,  nor  did  they  suspend  their  work  dur 
ing  the  time  that  mass  was  saying,  so  that  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  what  a  degree  of  irreverence  was 
occasioned  by  the  bustle  of  the  hand  looms.  After 
mass  had  been  said,  and  the  people  were  gone  out, 
the  church  was  closed,  and  the  Indians  were  shut 
in,  just  as  they  are  in  the  mills  ;  and  their  occupa 
tion  could  not  be  disguised,  because  the  noise  of 
the  frames  or  weaving-rods  could  be  distinctly 
heard  from  without. 

The  unfeeling  manner  in  which  they  are  treat 
ed  after  their  death,  corresponds  with  the  conduct 
observed  towards  them  while  they  are  living;  for 
they  would  consent  to  hav3  their  carcasses  exposed 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       119 

on  the  highway,  to  be  mangled  by  dogs,  and  de 
voured  by  vultures,  rather  than  give  them  burial,  or 
show  any  semblance  of  pity,  until  the  charity  of 
survivors  has  collected  and  paid  the  whole  amount 
of  the  church  fees.  Of  this  there  arc  palpable 
instances  at  almost  every  step,  in  journeying  from 
one  farm  to  another  ;  but  if  the  deceased  has  left 
aught  behind,  the  curate  becomes  universal  heir, 
collecting  together  utensils  and  live  stock,  and 
stripping  his  wife  and  children  of  every  thing  they 
possessed.  The  method  of  doing  it,  as  well  as  the 
mode  of  legalizing  the  fraud,  is  very  peculiar ;  it 
consists  in  making  for  the  deceased  a  sumptuous 
funeral,  however  repugnant  it  may  be  to  the  views 
of  the  interested  parties  ;  and  this  furnishes  pre 
text  enough  for  the  curate  to  engross  it  all  to  him 
self.  In  vain  do  the  heirs  enter  a  complaint ;  in 
vain  does  the  protector  demand  satisfaction  ;  for 
the  curate  presents  his  account  of  burial  expenses, 
—  the  tolling  of  the  bell,  the  masses  and  prayers 
said  over  the  body,  —  and,  as  the  whole  is  in  con 
formity  with  the  tariff,  he  maintains  his  ground 
and  is  finally  acquitted. 

The  wretched  state  of  the  Indian  is  to  be  attrib 
uted  to  the  vices  of  the  priests,  the  extortions  of 
the  corregidors,  and  the  bad  treatment  which  they 
generally  receive  from  all  Spaniards.  Unable  to 
endure  their  hardships,  and  longing  to  escape  from 
bondage,  many  of  them  have  risen  in  rebellion, 


120  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

and  found  their  way  to  unconquered  districts,  there 
to  continue  in  the  barbarous  practices  of  their  idol 
atrous  neighbors ;  and  in  view  of  the  foregoing, 
what  conclusions  are  they  to  form  from  the  scan 
dalous  lives  of  their  parish  priests  ?  especially 
when  we  reflect  that  the  Indian  is  but  partially 
civilized,  and  taught  rather  by  example  than  by 
precept.  Religious  instruction  can  make  no  im 
pression  upon  them  if  they  witness  just  the  reverse 
of  what  is  taught  in  the  conduct  of  their  spiritual 
guides  ;  for,  although  they  are  enjoined  to  love 
God  with  all  the  heart,  and  their  neighbors  as  them 
selves,  if  they  find  neither  the  one  precept  nor  the 
other  exhibited  in  the  lives  of  those  who  are  to 
point  out  to  them  the  way,  it  is  not  strange  that 
they  should  slight  religion,  and  treat  it  with  con 
tempt,  regarding  it  as  a  thing  so  superficial  and 
external  as  to  make  it  consist  only  in  words,  and 
not  in  faith  or  works. 

The  village  of  Pimampiro,  attached  to  the  de 
partment  of  the  city  of  Miguel  in  Ibarra,  presents 
a  melancholy  example  of  the  evils  resulting  from 
the  unjust  extortions  of  the  parish  priests.  Agree 
ably  to  records  which  are  still  existing,  that  town 
consisted  of  more  than  five  thousand  souls,  all 
Indians,  and  it  was  a  flourishing  settlement.  The 
behavior  of  the  curate  drove  them  to  desperation. 
Uniting  in  one  body,  they  rose  in  rebellion,  and 
proceeded  by  night  to  the  Cordilleras,  where  they 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  121 

merged  themselves  with  the  Gentile  Indians,  with 
whom  they  have  continued  until  the  present  time. 
The  site  they  now  occupy  is  so  near  to  the  limits 
of  that  department  that  the  smoke  of  their  huts 
may  be  seen  by  merely  taking  the  trouble  to 
ascend  the  neighboring  summits.  Some  of  these 
Indians  have  occasionally  appeared  in  the  town 
of  Mira,  the  nearest  settlement  to  their  villages, 
and  have  disappeared  again  with  the  greatest 
precipitation. 

Examples  of  the  same  nature  may  be  found  in 
the  loss  of  the  famous  city  of  Logrono  and  the 
village  of  Guariboya,  which  constituted  the  chief 
part  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Quixos  and  Macas, 
whose  capital,  Seville,  (Sevilla  del  Oro,)  now  re 
duced  to  ruins,  exists  only  as  a  sad  memorial  of 
the  ruin  that  befell  them.  This  country  is  so  rich 
in  gold  that  the  capital  derived  its  name  from  the 
abundance  of  that  metal  which  it  yielded,  and  its 
inhabitants  still  preserve  the  scales  in  which  the 
amount  of  one  fifth  was  weighed,  to  be  deposited 
in  the  king's  exchequer ;  but  the  corregidors  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  curates  on  the  other,  re 
duced  the  Indians  to  such  straits,  by  compelling 
them  to  labor  for  their  benefit,  that  they  were 
driven  to  the  necessity  of  rising  in  rebellion,  and, 
in  imitation  of  what  was  executed  upon  Pedro 
Valdivia  by  the  natives  of  Arauco,  Tucapel,  and 
others,  they  melted  a  great  quantity  of  gold,  and 
11 


122  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

poured  it  into  the  ears  and  nostrils  of  the  Span 
iards  ;  they  put  all  the  men  to  death,  reserving  the 
women,  whom  they  took  with  them  in  their  retreat 
to  the  wilderness  of  Macas,  after  having  laid 
waste  that  city  and  other  neighboring  towns. 
Seville  and  Zuna  were  the  only  settlements  that 
escaped  the  vengeance  of  the  Indians  ;  but  they 
have  become  so  depopulated  by  frequent  incur 
sions  of  hostile  tribes,  that  the  township  is  so  re 
duced  and  impoverished  that  no  money  circulates 
among  them.  But  to  show  how  unfriendly  the 
scandalous  conduct  of  the  parish  priests  is,  not 
only  to  the  preservation  of  the  villages  origi 
nally  conquered,  but  to  the  conversion  of  Gentile 
tribes,  we  shall  present  a  case  which  occurred  of 
late  years,  and  which  proves  our  assertion  beyond 
a  doubt. 

An  Indian,  who  appeared  clandestinely  in  the 
town  of  Riobamba,  left  the  site  where  once  stood 
the  village  of  Goamboya,  and  proceeded  imme 
diately  to  the  house  of  a  clergyman  who  resided 
there,  and  whose  integrity  was  unquestionable,  to 
whom  he  observed  that  he  came  in  behalf  of  his 
own  tribe  and  of  several  others  of  the  same  neigh 
borhood,  to  notify  him  that  they  would  like  to  have 
him  for  their  curate,  to  baptize  them  and  say  mass, 
and  that  they  would  give  him  his  maintenance  in 
return,  and  if  the  terms  were  agreed  to,  they 
would  furnish  him  as  much  gold  as  he  required 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  123 

and  as  many  wives  as  were  to  his  liking,  but  that 
he  must  go  alone,  accompanied  neither  by  Span 
iards  nor  mestizoes,  nor  any  other  priest  whatever, 
and  concluded  by  saying  that  the  reason  why  they 
were  so  favorably  inclined  towards  him  was,  the 
good  report  they  had  had  of  his  conduct,  having 
learnt  that  his  avarice  was  not  so  insatiable  as 
was  that  of  his  associates.  The  clergyman,  jeal 
ous  of  the  barbarity  common  to  Indians,  replied 
that  he  could  not  then  answer  him,  but  would  do  so 
within  a  stated  time.  The  Indian  showed  signs  of 
disappointment;  but  having  named  a  day  when  he 
should  receive  the  reply,  he  pointed  out  a  pass 
among  the  paramos  to  which  the  said  clergy 
man  only  should  repair,  and  would  there  be  re 
ceived  by  him  in  company  with  others  of  his 
tribe,  that  they  might  escort  him  to  their  territory, 
in  case  he  should  accept  the  proposal,  but  under 
the  indispensable  condition  that  no  one  should 
accompany  him.  The  Indian  again  disappeared, 
and  the  ecclesiastic,  confounded  by  the  occurrence, 
proceeded  to  Quito,  to  communicate  it  to  the  bishop 
of  that  city,  Sr.  Paredes,  who  had  been  promoted 
to  that  office  a  short  time  previous  to  our  arrival  in 
the  province.  This  prelate  inspired  him  with 
Christian  boldness  to  go  and  undertake  the  conver 
sion  of  as  many  unbelievers  as  were  disposed 
through  his  instrumentality  to  embrace  the  gospel. 
The  clergyman,  being  fully  resolved  to  do  so, 


124  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

under  the  first  impulse  of  the  fervor  inspired  by 
the  arguments  and  persuasions  of  the  bishop,  re 
turned  to  Riobamba;  but  the  pusillanimity  of  his 
irresolute  mind  wrought  such  an  effect  upon  him, 
.  that,  becoming  wholly  disheartened,  he  had  not 
sufficient  resolution  to  go  to  the  place  appointed, 
when  the  period  agreed  upon  had  arrived.  The 
Indian  resorted  thither,  accompanied  by  others  of 
his  tribe,  and  lay  hid  several  days  ;  but  finding 
that  the  priest  did  not  appear,  he  returned  to  Rio 
bamba  by  night,  and  visited  his  favorite  curate, 
who,  although  he  offered  to  accede  to  his  request, 
added  the  condition  that  he  was  to  go  in  company 
with  a  few  Spaniards  for  security  —  a  thing  which 
was  extremely  repugnant  to  the  Indians.  The 
messenger,  finding  that  he  could  not  secure  his 
object  by  dint  of  entreaty,  nor  by  giving  him  such 
coarse  expressions  of  confidence  as  his  limited 
capacity  dictated,  absented  himself  the  same  night 
from  the  town,  overwhelmed  with  disappointment. 
The  priest  immediately  spread  the  news  of  the 
Indian's  second  visit,  and,  naming  the  place  where 
he  had  told  him  he  would  wait  for  him,  with  oth 
ers  of  his  tribe,  several  persons  went  to  reconnoi 
tre  it,  and  found  manifest  indications  of  people 
having  been  there  ;  but,  although  they  endeavored 
to  penetrate  farther,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering 
the  paths  through  which  the  Indians  had  made 
their  retreat,  they  were  unable  to  do  so,  every 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  125 

vestige  of  them  having  disappeared  after  they  had 
proceeded  a  short  distance. 

This  occurrence  occasioned  great  sensation  in 
that  province,  and,  although  it  might  seem  strange 
that  they  should  apply  to  that  priest,  and  should 
be  acquainted  with  his  character,  when  they  have 
no  intercourse  with  those  Indians,  it  will  not  ap 
pear  so  if  we  reflect  that  many  Indians  of  those 
villages,  harassed  by  their  curates,  oppressed  by 
the  corregidors,  and  grieved  at  the  cruel  treatment 
they  receive  on  the  plantations,  disappear,  and  re 
tire  to  those  unconquered  wilds  to  live  with  the 
Gentile  Indians,  to  whom  they  communicate  in 
detail  every  thing  that  occurs  in  the  conquered 
territory  and  settlements,  making  them  so  disaf 
fected  towards  the  Spaniards  that  their  reduction 
is  rendered  more  difficult  than  ever.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  individual  who  came  twice  to  Rio- 
bamba  was  one  of  this  class  ;  for,  besides  the  cir 
cumstance  of  knowing  the  priest,  and  going  directly 
to  his  house,  he  spoke  with  accuracy  the  language 
of  the  Incas,  which  is  not  in  use  among  those 
tribes  of  Gentile  Indians. 

We  find  in  this  example  sufficient  evidence  both 
of  the  extreme  avarice  and  scandalous  lives  of  the 
priests,  as  well  as  of  the  opinion  the  Indians  must 
necessarily  entertain  of  them  by  what  they  see  in 
them  and  by  what  they  experience  from  them, 
which  may  be  clearly  inferred  from  the  declaration 
11* 


126  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

of  the  Indian  messenger  to  the  priest,  that  they 
would  have  none  but  himself  to  instruct  and  gov 
ern  them  ;  for  they  believed  that  he  would  not  en 
slave  them,  as  the  rest  of  the  Spaniards  do,  nor 
would  he  consent  that  others  should  go  with  him, 
lest,  the  road  being  discovered,  they  should  enter 
in  great  numbers,  seize  their  grounds,  and  enslave 
their  persons. 

The  most  amusing  characteristic  of  that  simple 
people,  and  which  most  contributes  to  make  them 
known  to  us,  is  the  offer  made  to  furnish  the  curate 
as  many  wives  as  he  would  like  ;  for  the  Indians, 
having  observed  that  the  priests  are  accompanied 
by  a  female,  as  the  married  laity  are,  and  by  a 
family  of  children  in  her  train,  they  are  persuaded 
that  this  horrible  sacrilege  is  a  lawful  act ;  while 
they,  as  well  as  every  body  else,  are  eye-witnesses 
of  such  licentious  practices,  that  it  is  enough  to 
make  the  most  fearless  tremble  to  see  with  what 
unconcern  and  self-complacency  those  priests  rise 
from  the  couch  of  criminal  indulgence  to  cele 
brate  the  holiest  sacrifice  that  the  imagination  can 
conceive.  Although  the  subject  is  one  to  be  de 
plored  in  silence,  rather  than  to  be  inscribed  on 
paper,  an  earnest  desire  that  such  accursed  licen 
tiousness  may  be  reformed  obliges  us  not  to  dis 
semble  or  palliate  it ;  and  in  further  proof  of  the 
unrestrained  lewdness  of  those  ecclesiastics,  we 
must  be  permitted  to  mention  an  instance  very 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO   PERU.  127 

generally  reported  in  the  whole  Province  of  Quito, 
although  it  took  place  some  time  previous  to  our 
arrival  in  that  country. 

In  a  village  belonging  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Cu- 
enca,  the  curacy  of  which  pertains  to  one  of  the 
orders,  a  friar  was  serving  as  curate  at  a  time 
that  the  cacique  of  the  town  had  a  young  daughter 
who,  for  an  Indian  girl,  possessed  no  ordinary 
share  of  beauty.  The  curate  had  used  every  ar 
tifice  to  accomplish  her  destruction  ;  but  her  own 
firmness,  as  well  as  the  estimable  character  of  her 
father,  had  saved  her  from  falling  into  the  fatal 
snare.  The  curate  could  not  tolerate  the  contempt 
of  the  Indian  woman,  and  had  the  impudence  to 
make  known  his  designs  to  her  father;  but  the 
latter  prided  himself  so  much  on  the  rank  of  his 
family,  as  well  as  on  the  circumstance  of  his 
daughter's  being  the  only  heiress  of  the  chiefship, 
that  he  rejected  with  scorn  the  wicked  and  shame 
ful  proposal.  The  curate,  discovering  that  the 
cacique  was  unfavorable  to  his  designs,  invented  a 
falsehood  (to  set  aside  the  difficulty)  as  perverse 
as  could  be  dictated  by  the  infernal  spirit  himself. 
He  went  to  the  cacique  to  ask  her  in  marriage  ; 
and,  with  a  view  to  overcome  the  repugnance 
which  such  a  novel  occurrence  might  excite,  he  told 
him  that  he  would  obtain  a  license  from  his  bishop, 
in  which  case  he  would  be  allowed  to  marry.  He 
further  attempted  to  remove  all  the  doubts  which 


128  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

might  suggest  themselves  to  the  mind  of  the  cacique 
on  the  subject,  by  informing  him  that,  although  this 
practice  was  not  a  common  one,  such  licenses  were 
generally  refused  only  on  the  ground  that  they 
could  not  be  burdened  with  the  expense  of  main 
taining  the  widows  and  children  which  might  be 
come  dependent  upon  them,  but  that  this  circum 
stance  did  not  obtain  in  him,  inasmuch  as  he  pos 
sessed  an  estate  adequate  to  the  support  of  a  fam 
ily,  not  to  mention  the  terms  of  intimacy  in  which 
he  had  always  lived  with  the  bishop.  Finally,  ho 
cited  to  him  false  precedents  and  fictitious  docu 
ments,  by  which  the  cacique  was  convinced  of  his 
sincerity,  and  promised  him  his  daughter  in  mar 
riage  as  soon  as  he  should  obtain  the  requisite  per 
mission.  In  order  to  deceive  the  cacique,  he  im 
mediately  sent  an  express,  although  for  a  very 
different  purpose,  to  the  provincial  of  his  order  in 
Quito,  and,  while  awaiting  his  return,  he  drew  up, 
with  the  aid  of  his  assistant,  a  false  patent,  in 
which  he  set  forth  that  that  prelate  had  granted 
him  a  license  to  marry.  The  messenger  returned, 
and  when  the  cacique  called  at  the  curate's  to 
know  the  result,  he  showed  him  the  document,  and 
the  cacique,  with  evident  marks  of  satisfaction, 
congratulated  him  on  the  favorable  result.  The 
mock  nuptials  were  celebrated  that  very  night,  and 
the  curate's  assistant  officiated  as  priest,  without 
the  presence  of  witnesses,  or  any  regard  to  the 


SECRET   EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  129 

usual  forms  ;  for  the  priest  maliciously  insinuated 
to  him  that  these  were  not  requisite  in  cases  of  that 
kind.  The  ceremony  was  performed,  and  from 
that  day  they  continued  to  lead  a  married  life. 
The  Indians  of  the  village  spread  the  report  of 
the  curate's  having  married  the  cacique's  daugh 
ter,  but  no  one  could  persuade  himself  to  believe 
that  it  could  have  been  so  in  reality,  but  supposed 
he  had  taken  her  as  a  concubine,  it  being  so  com 
mon  to  have  such.  The  occurrence  did  not  attract 
much  notice  at  first,  and  they  continued  living 
together  for  many  years,  until,  after  having  had  a 
numerous  family,  the  fraud  was  discovered,  and  the 
priest  suspended  for  a  time  from  the  duties  of  the 
priestly  office.  The  unfortunate  Indian  woman 
was  burdened  with  children,  and  the  cacique, 
grieved  for  the  reproach  he  had  suffered,  died  soon 
after,  the  heaviest  part  of  the  punishment  ulti 
mately  falling  on  those  who  had  been  guilty  of  no 
other  crime  than  that  of  having  listened  with  cre 
dulity  to  the  protestations  of  a  priest. 

The  credibility  of  this  circumstance  rests  on  its 
general  notoriety  in  those  countries  ;  elsewhere,  it 
might  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  fable  ;  but,  in 
a  country  where  a  licentious  life  is  so  common, 
any  thing  may  admit  of  belief.  We  cannot  assert 
it  as  a  positive  fact ;  but,  from  what  we  have  ex 
perienced,  it  is  by  no  means  difficult  to  believe  it. 
During  our  travels,  we  used  to  beguile  the  tedious- 


130  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

ness  of  the  way,  by  entering  into  conversation 
with  our  Indian  guides ;  and  the  first  information 
they  gave  us  related  to  the  family  of  the  curate 
of  the  village  to  which  we  were  going,  it  being 
quite  enough  to  ask  after  the  health  of  the  wife 
of  the  curate,  that  they  might  acquaint  us  with  the 
number  of  those  whom  he  had  known  in  that  char 
acter,  the  sons  and  daughters  belonging  to  each 
of  them,  their  lineage,  and  even  the  most  trivial 
circumstances  connected  with  the  ordinary  occur 
rences  of  the  village. 

From  what  we  have  witnessed  in  respect  to 
these  curacies,  we  may  infer  that  the  whole  aim 
of  those  monks,  in  soliciting  such  preferments,  is 
to  straiten  the  Indians,  in  order  to  enrich  them 
selves  at  their  expense,  and  to  live  with  entire  free 
dom  from  restraint ;  hence  there  is  not  one  among 
them  who  covets  the  rural  curacies,  which  consist 
of  the  modern  missions  ;  for,  as  those  Indians  are 
not  subject  to  church  contributions,  the  curates  are 
not  at  liberty  to  impose  them,  and  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  them,  as  is  the  case  in  other  districts ; 
and  although  the  Indians  of  their  own  accord  cul 
tivate  one  of  their  farms  for  the  benefit  of  the  cu 
rate,  yet,  as  its  produce  is  merely  sufficient  to  sup 
ply  their  necessities,  and  not  to  accumulate,  it  is 
not  enough  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  avarice. 
Hence  those  who  go  to  them  do  so  as  a  penance, 
or  from  caprice,  or  to  make  a  merit  of  it,  in 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  131 

order  to  secure  some  benefice  in  an  old  settle 
ment,  rather  than  from  the  single  desire  of  employ 
ing  themselves  in  the  instruction  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  for  this  reason  the  few  who  accept  these  cura 
cies  spend  the  greater  part  or  almost  the  whole 
year  in  the  villages  or  cities,  which  they  prefer, 
and  reside  on  their  curacy  only  during  the  annual 
celebration  of  the  church  festivals,  which  are  all 
comprised  within  the  short  term  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
days,  and  they  take  their  departure  from  them  as 
soon  as  the  ceremony  is  finished. 

The  name  of  rural  parishes  is  given  to  those 
which  lie  on  the  spurs  of  the  lofty  chain  of  the 
Andes,  through  the  whole  tract  of  country  which 
extends  easterly  on  this  side,  and  westerly  on  that 
which  belongs  to  the  other  side.  The  climate  of 
those  latitudes  is  hot  and  moist,  and  on  that  ac 
count  not  well  adapted  to  those  who  are  accus 
tomed  to  the  hill  country.  It  is  this  which  renders 
them  little  to  be  coveted,  and  which  furnishes  a 
pretext  for  the  curates  who  accept  them  not  to 
take  up  their  residence  in  them.  But  were  they 
animated  with  zeal  to  promote  the  cause  of  re 
ligion,  or  stimulated  by  a  desire  for  the  salvation 
of  those  souls,  they  would  not  stop  at  difficulties, 
nor  find  fault  with  a  change  of  temperature  ;  but 
as  their  zeal  is  directed  only  to  the  increase  of 
their  revenue,  and  not  to  the  propagation  of  the 
faith,  every  thing  is  difficult  and  repugnant,  except 


132  SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU. 

it  be  to  live  after  the  licentious  customs  which 
have  become  inveterate  in  the  older  settlements. 

Having  described  the  tyrannical  policy  of  the 
curates  towards  the  Indians,  their  atrocious  con 
duct,  and  their  dissolute  habits,  it  remains  to  ex 
amine  the  method  adopted  for  the  education  of  the 
Indians,  and  their  instruction  in  the  dogmas  of 
religion,  on  which  subject  we  have  already  ob 
served  that  on  Sundays  the  Christian  doctrine  is 
rehearsed  a  short  time  previous  to  saying  mass. 
At  this  ceremony  all  the  Indians,  male  and  female, 
great  and  small,  are  to  present  themselves,  and, 
gathering  in  the  cemetery  or  square  in  front  of 
the  church,  they  sit  upon  the  ground,  arranged 
according  to  age  and  sex,  and  the  catechizing  or 
doctrine  commences  in  the  following  manner  :  — 

Each  curate  employs  a  blind  Indian,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  repeat  the  doctrine  to  the  rest.  The 
latter  is  stationed  in  the  centre  of  them  all,  and, 
with  a  kind  of  recitative,  which  is  neither  singing 
nor  prayer,  he  repeats  the  collects  or  offices  word 
for  word,  and  the  audience  responds  in  the  form 
of  dialogue.  The  doctrine  is  sometimes  rehearsed 
in  the  language  of  the  Inca,  (which  is  that  of  the 
Indians,)  and  sometimes  in  Spanish,  which  is  not 
intelligible  to  any  of  them.  This  saying  of  prayers 
lasts  somewhat  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  it 
comprises  all  the  religious  instruction  which  is 
given  to  the  Indians  —  a  method  from  which  they 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  133 

derive  so  little  benefit  that  old  men  of  seventy 
know  no  more  than  the  little  Indian  boys  (cholitos) 
of  the  age  of  six,  and  neither  these  nor  those  have 
any  further  instruction  than  parrots  would  obtain 
if  they  were  so  taught,  for  they  are  neither  ques 
tioned  personally,  nor  are  the  mysteries  of  faith 
explained  to  them  with  the  needful  simplicity,  nor 
are  they  examined  to  see  if  they  understand  what 
they  say,  nor  do  they  endeavor  to  make  it  more 
intelligible  to  those  who  are  dull  of  comprehension 
—  a  duty  so  much  the  more  obligatory  in  propor 
tion  to  the  degree  of  their  insensibility  or  luke- 
warmness  in  the  concerns  of  religion.  As  the  whole 
instruction  is  confined  rather  to  the  tone  of  the 
recitative  than  to  the  sense  of  the  words,  it  is  only 
by  singing  that  they  are  able  to  rehearse  detached 
portions  ;  for  when  they  are  questioned  upon  any 
distinct  point,  they  cannot  join  two  words  together, 
and  they  possess  so  imperfect  an  idea  of  the  little 
they  do  know,  that,  when  they  are  asked  who  the 
most  Holy  Trinity  is,  they  sometimes  answer, "  The 
priest,"  and  sometimes,  "  The  Virgin  Mary  ; " 
and  when  they  are  urged  seriously  to  listen  to  the 
question,  they  change  the  answer,  being  always 
inclined  to  admit  whatever  may  be  said  to  them, 
even  if  it  were  the  most  ridiculous  jargon.  The 
curate  has  no  other  object  in  view  than  to  make 
every  one  bring  the  little  presents  required ;  and 
when  he  has  collected  these,  (which  consist  of  what 
12 


134  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

they  may  happen  to  have,)  and  has  taken  a  note 
of  those  who  have  failed  to  bring  any,  in  order 
afterwards  to  call  them  to  account,  he  thinks 
he  is  discharged  from  any  further  obligation. 
This  method  of  teaching  the  Indians  is  so  common 
in  all  the  villages,  that,  even  in  those  whose  curates 
are  the  most  exemplary,  no  other  is  practised. 

In  like  manner,  there  is  upon  every  plantation 
another  blind  Indian,  who  is  supported  by  the 
charity  of  the  planter  for  the  same  object.  The 
Indians  are  collected  two  or  three  days  in  the 
week  in  the  farm-yard,  usually  at  three  in  the 
morning,  so  as  not  to  lose  time  from  the  work 
they  have  to  perform  through  the  day ;  they  re 
peat  the  same  prayers,  precisely  as  is  observed  in 
the  church,  but  the  ceremony  is  accompanied 
neither  by  preaching  nor  by  any  effort  whatever 
to  explain  the  mysteries  of  the  faith. 

The  eagerness  of  the  curate  to  celebrate  all  the 
church  festivals  is  attended  with  consequences  of 
a  most  pernicious  character,  as  we  have  often  had 
occasion  to  witness ;  for  at  the  close  of  the  church 
festivity,  that  of  the  "  masters  of  ceremonies " 
comes  in  course,  and  being  made  to  consist  of  their 
common  orgies,  which  are  to  intoxicate  themselves 
with  the  drink  of  chicha,  they  not  only  effect  their 
own  ruin,  by  consuming  the  scanty  allowance  of 
maize  on  which  they  depend  for  their  support, 
but,  being  deprived  of  sense  and  reason,  fathers 


SECRET   EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  135 

are  crowded  together  with  daughters,  brothers 
with  sisters,  without  distinction  of  sex,  and  with 
out  respect  to  relationship  or  regard  to  age.  The 
curates  do  not  rebuke  the  disorder,  on  account  of 
the  gain  resulting  to  them  from  the  celebration  ; 
and  as  it  is  they  who  furnish  the  occasion  of  scan 
dal,  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  tolerate  it,  or  to 
pretend,  as  they  do,  not  to  be  aware  of  it.  In  view 
of  their  heinous  conduct,  in  fomenting  and  multi 
plying  occasions  of  offence  among  the  Indians, 
their  religion  does  not  resemble  the  Christian  any 
more  than  it  resembles  that  which  they  had  while 
they  were  in  a  state  of  paganism  ;  for,  if  we  exam 
ine  the  subject  with  care,  it  will  be  found  that,  not 
withstanding  the  nominal  conversion  of  these  tribes, 
the  progress  they  have  made  in  knowledge  is  so 
inconsiderable  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  discover 
any  difference  between  the  condition  in  which  they 
now  live  and  that  in  which  they  were  found  at  the 
period  of  the  conquest. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Showing  that  the  Unwillingness  of  the  Gentile  Indians  to 
receive  the  Gospel  and  to  submit  to  the  Authority  of  the 
Kings  of  Spain  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  extreme  Suffer 
ings  of  the  civilized  Indians,  as  will  appear  from  the 
limited  Influence  and  partial  Success  of  the  Catholic 
Missions. 

BY  examining  attentively  all  that  has  been  said 
in  the  four  preceding  chapters,  we  shall  see  the 
reason  why  the  unconverted  Indians  abhor  the  do 
minion  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  motives  which 
incline  them  to  regard  with  contempt  the  Catholic 
faith,  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  indoctrinate  them, 
inasmuch  as  they  look  upon  religion,  as  they  are 
taught  it,  as  the  instrument  used  to  bring  them 
under  the  cruel  yoke  of  despotism.  Under  this 
conviction,  it  is  not  strange  that  they  should  appear 
so  obstinate  and  unwilling  to  receive  it,  when  they 
have  before  them  the  melancholy  spectacle  of 
what  tikes  place  in  respect  to  the  converted  In 
dians  of  their  own  tribe  ;  nor  can  we  wonder  that, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  freedom,  they  should  prefer  a 
wandering,  uncertain,  and  barbarous  life  to  the 
comforts  of  a  social  condition  which  brings  them 
to  the  very  doors  of  servitude. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  137 

It  was  one  of  the  principal  points  contained  in 
our  instructions  that  we  should  inform  ourselves 
of  the  places  still  in  possession  of  savage  Indians, 
their  proximity  to  our  settlements,  the  tribes  which 
compose  them,  and  the  difficulties  and  facilities 
arising  from  their  genius  and  habits  in  effecting 
their  civilization.  In  the  present  chapter  we  shall 
merely  present  a  history  of  the  missions  sustained 
by  the  religious  orders  among  the  unconverted 
Indians  of  the  Province  of  Quito,  of  which  we 
possess  sufficient  knowledge  to  be  able  to  do  it 
with  the  accuracy  which  the  subject  demands,  giv 
ing  an  account  both  of  the  places  and  individuals 
connected  with  each  of  the  several  stations. 

We  may  safely  affirm  that,  of  the  whole  extent 
of  South  America,  the  only  portion  peopled  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  in  which  there  are  towns  that 
recognize  the  government  of  the  king,  is  the  tract 
comprised  between  the  two  principal  chains  of  the 
Andes  and  that  which  reaches  from  the  western 
chain  to  the  coasts  of  the  South  Sea ;  and  it  should 
be  observed  that  in  these  there  are  immense  tracts 
which  are  entirely  uninhabited,  either  because 
they  form  spacious  pampas,  where  no  facilities 
exist  for  colonizing,  or  because  they  are  occupied 
by  savage  hordes,  which  have  never  been  con 
quered.  This  is  the  case  along  the  coast  from  Arica 
to  Valparaiso,  and  from  Conception  to  Valdivia, 
12* 


138  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

although  not  in  an  unbroken  line,  but  in  most  of 
the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  interior. 

The  Spanish  settlements  of  the  hill  country 
reach  eastward ly  as  far  as  the  western  declivities 
of  the  eastern  chain  of  the  Andes,  as  has  been 
already  observed  in  the  description  of  the  Province 
of  Quito,  in  the  first  volume  of  our  travels;  and 
from  the  eastern  declivities  of  the  same  chain,  (a 
wooded,  moist,  and  hot  country,)  onward  towards 
the  east,  the  settlements  of  the  savage  Indians 
have  their  commencement,  and  they  are  situated 
at  so  short  a  distance  from  those  of  the  Spaniards, 
that,  by  merely  ascending  the  mountain  summits, 
(as  deer  hunters  are  wont  to  do,)  we  may  see  dis 
tinctly  the  smoke  of  the  Indian  huts ;  from  this 
point  their  territory  extends  eastwardly  till  it  meets 
the  coasts  of  Brazil,  over  a  surface  of  more  than 
six  hundred  leagues. 

The  tribes  which  inhabit  all  those  tracts,  of  such 
immense  length  and  breadth,  are  very  numerous, 
and  every  village  has  a  distinct  language,  unlike 
that  of  the  neighboring  ones ;  and,  although  in  gen 
eral  there  may  not  be  a  marked  difference  in  their 
manners  and  customs,  some  diversity  may  be  no 
ticed  among  them,  whether  it  be  in  the  absurd 
rites  of  their  idolatrous  worship,  or  in  the  system 
of  their  government,  or  in  their  general  charac 
teristics. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU-  139 

Very  few  of  these  tribes  receive  missionaries, 
and  the  most  unyielding  are  those  who  are  situ 
ated  nearest  to  the  Spanish  settlements.  There 
are  none,  however,  so  obstinate  in  this  respect 
as  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  insurrection  and 
murder ;  for,  as  they  live  in  apprehension  of  de 
served  punishment,  there  are  no  means  adequate 
for  their  complete  subjugation.  The  same  takes 
place  with  the  insurrectionists  of  the  Spanish  set 
tlements  ;  and  in  these  an  additional  circumstance 
obtains,  which  is,  that  of  escaping  from  the  ill 
treatment  they  have  suffered  ;  hence  follows  the 
immense  mischief  they  occasion,  by  making  it 
known  to  the  tribes  in  whom  they  are  merged,  and 
to  those  in  their  neighborhood,  that  they  may  learn 
to  abhor  even  the  name  of  Spaniard,  and  obstinate 
ly  resist  the  introduction  of  the  Catholic  faith. 

We  cannot  deny  that  the  Indians,  being  natu 
rally  inclined  to  indolence,  to  idolatry,  and  to 
every  thing  which  accords  with  the  brutish  state 
in  which  they  live,  —  for  among  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  it  is  natural,  as  well  as  a  matter  of 
experience,  that  each  one  esteems  those  customs, 
manners,  and  religion  in  which  he  was  born  as  the 
best,  and  any  other  whatever  as  foreign  to  them, — 
we  cannot  deny,  we  say,  that  they  are  averse  to  it, 
and  will  not  accede  to  it  without  repugnance.  In 
this  view  it  not  only  ceases  to  be  strange  that  the 


140  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Indians  are  made  to  receive  customs  so  distinct  from 
those  to  which  they  are  inured,  inasmuch  as  labor 
stands  opposed  to  indolence,  and  civilization  to  the 
savage  state,  but  it  is  worthy  of  admiration  that, 
without  encountering  great  obstacles,  some  tribes 
should  be  found  of  so  docile  dispositions  as  to 
receive  missionaries  and  adopt  the  rites  and  pre 
cepts  of  a  religion  which  obliges  them  to  abandon 
their  false  gods,  to  lay  aside  their  ancient  and 
almost  connaturalized  habits,  and  to  tear  them 
selves  away  from  the  superstition  and  sorcery  with 
which  the  infernal  spirit  has  beguiled  them,  the 
more  effectually  to  reduce  them  to  hopeless 
bondage. 

Inasmuch  as  hatred  and  opposition  to  any  other 
laws,  human  or  divine,  diverse  from  those  estab 
lished  among  them,  are  characteristic  of  all  na 
tions,  as  is  also  a  fixed  purpose  not  to  abandon  their 
ancient  customs,  we  shall  lay  it  down  as  granted, 
that,  of  the  two  circumstances  which  render  the 
reduction  of  the  Indians  difficult,  this  holds  the 
first  place,  and  we  are  to  regard  it  as  natural  and 
general  among  them,  and  not  as  being  limited  to 
any  one  tribe  ;  the  second  is,  the  ill  treatment  they 
are  exposed  to  by  becoming  subject  to  the  Span 
iards,  after  they  have  been  conquered.  Even 
without  this  circumstance,  that  of  forcing  them  out 
of  a  loitering,  idle,  and  easy  life,  to  inure  them 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  141 

to  another  which  is  laborious  and  constrained, 
would  of  itself  suffice  to  create  repugnance  on 
their  part  to  the  exchange,  although  they  should 
suffer  no  ill  treatment  from  the  Spaniards.  All 
these  circumstances  together  conspire  to  render 
the  instruction  of  the  Indians  difficult,  and  to  make 
them  regard  the  Christian  religion  with  little  es 
teem,  and  even  with  aversion,  it  being  the  first  step 
in  the  ladder  by  which  they  ascend  to  the  theatre 
of  their  labors  and  sufferings. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  the  reason  why  all 
the  tribes  of  Gentile  Indians  have  not  had  mission 
aries  is,  that  they  have  refused  to  receive  them  ; 
but  it  is  also  because  no  effort  has  been  made  to 
introduce  them.  In  some  portions,  the  cause  may 
be  found  in  the  great  distance  of  those  parts  from 
the  mountain  chain,  which  keeps  the  Spaniards  in 
ignorance  of  them  ;  in  others,  it  is  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  brokenness  of  the  country  and  un- 
healthiness  of  the  climate  make  it  undesirable 
except  to  those  who  are  brought  up  from  in 
fancy  in  those  latitudes.  At  the  same  time,  we 
have  no  doubt  that  missions  might  be  undertaken 
and  sustained,  should  a  settlement  be  once  com 
menced,  and  that  such  articles  might  be  raised  as 
are  adapted  to  the  climate,  as  is  the  case  in  others 
which  are  as  warm  and  moist  as  those  which 
have  continued  unknown  until  the  present  time. 
The  only  districts  where  missions  are  found  even 


142  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

now  are  those  which  are  best  known  on  account 
of  their  proximity  to  the  mountain  chain,  or  to  the 
banks  of  the  largest  rivers,  as  we  find  to  be  the  case 
on  the  Marafion ;  and  there  are  very  few  even  of 
these  that  have  missionaries,  the  Indians  not  being 
willing  to  receive  them,  because  they  entertain  a 
strong  prejudice  against  civilization,  in  consequence 
of  what  they  have  heard  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
conquered  tribes. 

The  Gentile  tribes  bordering  on  the  Province  of 
Quito  are  so  numerous,  that  the  missions  there 
established  are  proportionally  few,  and  the  religious 
orders  who  consecrate  themselves  to  them  with 
evangelic  zeal  are  still  fewer ;  for,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  Jesuits'  order,  who  have  for  many 
years  sustained  the  mission  of  Maynas,  all  the  others 
either  have  no  missions,  or  keep  up  a  station  here 
and  there,  which  is  barely  enough  to  serve  as  an 
apology  for  calling  over  missionaries,  the  latter 
being  afterwards  employed  for  the  private  ends 
and  emolument  of  the  order  itself,  for  it  is  never 
known  that  they  go  to  preach  and  spread  the  gos 
pel  among  the  heathen.  This  is  so  general,  that 
there  is  no  religious  order  which  does  not  adopt 
the  same  course,  for  it  is  also  the  practice  of  the 
Jesuits ;  so  that,  of  every  twenty  individuals  who 
go  from  Spain,  there  is  scarcely  one,  or,  at  most, 
two,  who  join  the  mission,  because  the  order  itself 
does  not  appropriate  a  greater  number  for  this 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  143 

service.  It  is  true  that  the  order  of  Jesuits  sustains  a 
greater  number  of  stations  among  the  Gentile  In 
dians  than  any  other  order ;  but  the  number  it 
retains  permanently  in  the  colleges  is  not  less  on 
this  account  than  those  retained  by  the  former, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  far  exceeds  that  of  the  others, 
which  arises  from  the  fact  that  they  send  for  mis 
sionaries  more  frequently,  and  receive  a  greater 
number  of  them  by  every  arrival  from  Spain. 

In  Spain,  it  is  generally  supposed  (and  the  same 
opinion  obtains  in  the  convents  themselves)  that 
the  missionaries  who  go  to  the  Indies  are  to  pro 
ceed  immediately  to  the  conversion  of  the  natives; 
and  many  of  them,  full  of  zeal  for  the  propaga 
tion  of  the  faith,  offer  to  go  and  connect  them 
selves  with  the  missions  ;  but  as  this  does  not  take 
place,  they  are  disappointed  when  they  arrive 
there,  finding  how  different  their  situation  is  from 
what  they  had  anticipated,  and  that  it  is  impossible 
ever  to  get  back  again.  The  case  with  the  mis 
sionaries  who  are  sent  is,  that  immediately  on 
their  arrival  there,  they  are  distributed,  if  Jesuits, 
in  the  colleges,  or,  if  of  other  orders,  which  use 
rotation,  in  the  convents  of  all  the  provinces  ;  and 
some  devoting  themselves  to  professorships,  others 
to  the  pulpit,  others  to  attorney  ships,  and  others  to 
the  management  of  the  farms,  precisely  as  is 
practised  in  Spain,  they  keep  them  employed  in 
these  functions,  or  exchange  them,  by  transferring 


144  SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

them  from  some  to  others,  but  always  for  the  ben 
efit  of  the  convents.  Hence  it  appears  that  the 
only  proper  object  of  missionaries  and  missions  is 
that  which  is  least  thought  of;  for  when  the  lim 
ited  number  of  stations  which  compose  the  mission 
is  furnished  with  curates,  it  is  only  when  one  dies, 
or  another  wishes  to  retire,  burdened  with  the 
weight  of  years,  that  a  substitute  is  appointed  in 
his  place,  and  a  long  period  frequently  elapses 
without  the  occurrence  of  either  event. 

Preaching  to  the  heathen  not  being  the  object 
of  the  appeal  made  by  the  orders  to  send  mission 
aries  to  the  Indies,  they  must  necessarily  have 
some  other  in  view,  which  will  result  in  some  ad 
vantage  ;  for,  if  it  were  not  so,  they  would  not 
run  into  the  expense  incurred  on  their  own  ac 
count  (besides  what  is  contributed  from  the  royal 
exchequer)  if  they  could  avoid  it,  and  this  is  the 
point  which  we  are  going  to  elucidate. 

The  orders  which  practise  rotation  in  all  the 
offices  belonging  to  them  must  necessarily  avail 
themselves  of  emigrants  from  Europe,  for  other 
wise  they  would  be  liable  to  lose  their  immunities ; 
and  having  no  other  pretext  for  bringing  them  over, 
they  lay  hold  of  that  of  the  missions  as  the  most 
plausible  ;  but  as  this  measure  has  no  reference  to 
Creoles,  agents  are  always  sent  to  invite  missiona 
ries,  when  the  office  devolves  in  course  upon  a 
European ;  and  as  a  small  number  of  emigrants 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  145 

suffice  for  this  object,  the  orders  limit  themselves 
to  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jesuits,  whose 
objects  are  distinct,  being  entirely  confined  to  their 
own  order.  These  are  to  preserve  an  equilibrium  in 
all  the  colleges  between  Europeans  and  Creoles, 
and  to  make  the  good  habits  and  education  of  the 
former  to  predominate  over  the  bad  ones  acquired 
from  childhood  by  the  latter,  in  order  that  the  col 
leges  may  not  decline  from  that  high  standard  of 
discipline  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Jesuits,  both  in 
Spain  and  in  all  Catholic  kingdoms,  or  wherever 
their  order  extends,  and  that  they  may  employ 
Europeans  to  manage  the  revenue  of  the  colleges 
with  proper  diligence,  fidelity,  and  economy,  as 
there  are  few  Creoles  in  whom  these  circumstances 
concur ;  hence  they  are  unfit  for  offices  of  trust, 
neither  can  they  be  employed  in  the  missions,  their 
conduct  not  being  of  a  nature  to  qualify  them  for 
such  a  charge. 

In  the  year  1744,  when  we  are  about  taking 
leave  of  those  countries,  one  of  the  Jesuit  missions 
arrived  at  Quito,  having  lately  come  from  Spain  ; 
and  it  was  composed  of  a  large  number  of  indi 
viduals.  They  were  persuaded  that,  immediately 
on  their  arrival,  they  should  be  appointed  to  go 
among  the  Gentile  Indians,  to  engage  in  preaching 
the  gospel ;  and,  finding  that  no  such  measures 
were  adopted,  they  soon  began  to  make  known 
their  dissatisfaction,  which  had  reached  such  a 
13 

OP-TKF  . 

UN1VERS1TV 


146  SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

degree,  that,  if  they  had  had  means  of  returning 
to  Spain,  scarcely  one  would  have  consented  to 
remain.  They  said,  that  in  case  they  were 
to  continue  in  the  colleges,  it  would  be  more 
agreeable  and  advantageous  to  them  to  do  so 
in  Spain ;  so  great  was  their  disappointment 
on  discovering  how  far  they  were  from  secur 
ing  the  object  proposed  to  them  when  they  re 
solved  to  proceed  to  the  Indies  ;  and  the  same 
may  be  affirmed  of  all  the  rest,  until,  in  the 
lapse  of  time,  they  become  accustomed  to  the 
country,  and  lose  their  zeal  for  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians. 

All  the  missions  scattered  over  the  vast  Province 
of  Quito  are  confined  to  those  of  the  Jesuits  on  the 
River  Maranon,  and  five  settlements  belonging  to 
the  order  of  St.  Francis,  about  the  head-waters  of  the 
River  lea  in  Sucumbios ;  but  neither  those  of  the 
Jesuits,  nor  of  the  Seraphic  order,  have  priests  in 
all  the  settlements,  as  they  ought  to  have.  But 
that  this  statement  may  be  made  more  circumstan 
tial,  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of  a  report  drawn  up 
by  Dr.  James  Peralta,  curate  of  the  parish  of  St. 
Barbara,  in  the  year  1745,  which  is  the  most  com 
plete  and  accurate  that  has  been  made  since  the 
origin  of  those  missions,  and  the  most  instructive, 
as  it  makes  us  acquainted  with  their  present  con 
dition. 

The  Seraphic  order  have  only  five  towns  in  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  147 

missions  of  Sucumbios,  namely,  St.  Michael,  St. 
Joseph,  St.  James  of  the  Palmars,  Yaunque,  and 
Nariguera ;  and  these  missions  belong  to  the  de 
partment  of  Pasto,  although  dependent  on  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  Audience  of  Quito. 

The  missions  of  the  company  commence  from 
the  city  of  Archidona,  whose  curacy  belonged  to 
the  clergy,  and  was  exchanged  by  them  for  one 
owned  by  the  company  in  the  forests  of  the  Prov 
ince  of  Guayaquil.* 

*  1.  The  curacy  of  Archidona  has  three  others  annexed  to 
it,  each  at  the  distance  of  six  or  seven  leagues  from  that 
city;  and  they  are  Misagualli,  inhabited  by  Spaniards,  mes 
tizoes,  and  negroes,  Tena  and  Napo,  both  inhabited  by 
Indians. 

2.  Mission  of  St.  Michael  of  Siecoyas.  The  Indians  of 
this  town  rose  upon  the  father  missionary,  and,  on  the  9th. 
of  January,  1715,  put  him  to  death,  and  afterwards  burnt 
him,  with  two  other  youths  which  he  had  associated  with 
him.  The  name  of  this  priest  was  Francis  Real,  and  he  had 
under  his  charge,  besides  the  principal  village,  in  which  he 
constantly  resided,  six  other  towns,  the  names  of  which  are 
St.  Bartholomew  of  Moya,  St.  Peter,  St.  Estanislaus,  St. 
Luis,  St.  Croix,  and  Emmanuel  de  Aguarico ;  all  these  towns 
take  their  name  from  the  River  Aguarico,  on  the  banks  of 
which  they  are  situated.  In  these  six  annexed  towns  there 
were  only  2063  persons  of  both  sexes  and  of  every  age, 
1628  converts  and  435  catechumens  ;  and  although  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  atrocious  crime  committed  by  the  in 
habitants  of  the  principal  village,  they  would  not  imitate 
their  bad  example,  but,  on  the  contrary,  waited  quietly  in 
their  villages  until  a  new  missionary  should  be  sent  to  them, 
intimating  that  they  regarded  with  horror  the  sacrilegious 
deed  of  the  other  Indians.  This  missionary  was  one  of 


148  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

The  result  of  our  inquiries  is,  that  the  missions 
of  Maynas  and  Quixos,  which  are  under  the 
charge  of  the  company,  consist  of  40  settlements, 
and  employ  in  them  18  missionaries,  17  priests, 
and  1  assistant,  comprising  in  all  12,853  souls, 
9858  baptized  and  2939  catechumens.  It  is  cer 
tain  that  many  of  these  towns,  which  are  annexed 
to  one  diocese,  might  need  a  separate  missionary 
for  their  support  and  greater  advancement ;  but, 
notwithstanding  this  want  of  missionaries,  these 

those  who  had  arrived  at  Quito  with  the  last  mission  which 
had  come  from  Spain;  and  being  ignorant  of  the  genius, 
habits,  and  peculiarities  of  the  Indians,  was  wanting  in  that 
kind  of  authority  which  that  tribe  demands,  in  order  not  to 
exasperate  by  reproof,  nor  to  be  too  severe  in  endeavoring  to 
rescue  them  from  the  barbarous  customs  and  vices  which 
have  become  to  them  a  second  nature. 

3.  Mission  of  St.  Joseph  of  Guajoya.     Its  rector,  Father 
Pietragrosa,  had  under  his  charge,  besides  the  principal  vil 
lage,  named  Mary,  three  others  of  St.  Xavier  de  Icahuates, 
St.   John   the  Baptist,  and  the   Queen  of  the  Angels,  in 
which,  as   the    settlements   had  been    recently  formed,  a 
brother  of  the  company  resided,  whose  name  was  Salvador 
Sanchez,  to  teach  the  Indians  to  pray  and  to  instruct  them 
in  Christian  doctrine. 

4.  Mission  under  the   charge   of   Perez  —  St.  Xavier  de 
Urarines,  likewise  a  settlement  recently  formed.    The  follow 
ing  are  the  old  stations  of  Maynas  on  the  Iliver  Maranon :  — 

5.  Mission  of  St.  Francis  de  Borja,  capital  of  the  govern 
ment  of  Maynas,  so  depopulated  as  to  consist  of  only  143 
souls,  of  both  sexes,  and  of  every  age,  and  66  Spaniards  be 
sides.    It  has  annexed  to  it  the  towns  of  St.  Ignatius  of  May 
nas  and  the  upper  Andoas.    Father  Magnori  is  the  curate. 

6.  Mission  of  St.  Thomas  of  Andoa,  under  the  charge  of 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  149 

stations  are  in  a  better  condition,  beyond  compari 
son,  than  those  of  St.  Francis  ;  for  the  persons 
destined  for  these  missions  by  the  company  con 
stantly  reside  in  the  benefices,  and  frequently 
vis.it  those  that  are  annexed ;  their  churches  and 
chapels  are  in  good  order,  and  the  decorations, 
although  not  of  much  value,  are  neat  and  well 

Father  Fransen,  with  the  towns  of  Semigaes  and  St.  Joseph 
of  Pinches. 

7.  Mission  of  Concepcion  of  Cahuapanas,  under  the  care 
of  Father  Francis  Rem. 

8.  Mission  of  the  Presentacion  of  Chayavitas  and  the  En- 
carnacion  de  Paranapuas,  under  the  charge  of  Father  Igna 
tius  Falcon. 

9.  Mission  of  the  Concepcion  de  Xibaros,  under  the  paro 
chial  charge  of  Father  Michael. 

10.  Mission  of  St.  Jago  de  Laguna,  under  the   care  of 
Father  Scheffen,  who  had  for  his  associate  William  Gremez. 
This  town,  being  the  head-quarters  of  the  mission,  contains 
1107  souls. 

11.  Mission  of  St.  Xavier  of  Chamicuros  and  St.  Anthony 
Abad  de  Aguanos,  both  under  the  care  of  Father  Bamonte. 

12.  Mission  of  our  Lady  de  las  Nieves  de  Jurimagas,  St. 
Anthony  de  Padua  de  Nainiches,  and  St.  Francis  Rexis  del 
Paradero,  under  the  care  of  Leonard  Deubler. 

13.  Mission  of  St.  Joaquin  de  Laqueran  Homagua ;  mis 
sionary,  Adam  Widman. 

14.  Mission  of  St.  Paul  of  Napanos ;  missionary,  Father 
Iriarte. 

15.  Mission  of  St.  Philip  of  Amaona ;  missionary,  Father 
Herraez. 

16.  Mission  of  St.  Simon  of  Nahuapo ;  missionary,  Father 
Aranjo. 

17.  Mission  of  St.  Ignatius  of  Pevas  and  Caumares ;  mis 
sionary,  Father  Falcombeli. 

13* 


150  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

made.  There  we  see  displayed  Christian  zeal 
and  diligence,  and  great  solemnity  in  the  celebra 
tion  of  public  worship.  It  is  not  so  in  the  mission 
villages  of  Sucumbios,  belonging  to  the  Seraphic 
order,  for  the  priests  reside  there  but  a  short  peri 
od  ;  the  churches  are  wholly  out  of  repair,  and  in 
a  dilapidated  condition  ;  their  priests  do  not  minis 
ter  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  Indians ;  and, 
owing  to  the  entire  absence  of  religious  fervor, 
instead  of  making  progress,  they  are  in  a  retro 
grade  condition. 

Having  spoken  already  of  the  missions  of  May- 
nas,  it  would  be  unjust  to  overlook  their  origin  and 
the  progress  the  company  has  made  in  them,  espe 
cially  as  the  history  of  them  will  confirm  what  we 
have  said  on  this  subject. 

A  Portuguese  fleet,  consisting  of  forty-seven 
large  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  Texeira,  hav 
ing  ascended  the  Maranon,  the  Audience  of  Quito 
determined  that,  on  their  return  to  Para,  whence 
they  had  proceeded,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering 
the  course  of  that  river,  two  of  the  father  Jesuits 
should  go  down  with  them,  in  order  to  examine 
those  territories  more  minutely,  ascertain  by  what 
tribes  they  are  inhabited,  and  notice  other  partic 
ulars  which  should  contribute  to  a  better  knowl 
edge  of  their  condition.  The  company,  whose 
attention  had  been  for  many  years  directed  to  the 
discovery  of  that  vast  country,  with  a  view  to 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  151 

extend  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  among  the  many 
barbarous  tribes  which  inhabit  it,  accepted  the 
charge  with  great  satisfaction,  and  named  Fathers 
Acuna  and  Artieda  for  this  object. 

It  was  on  the  18th  of  October,  1637,  that  the 
Portuguese  fleet  left  the  neighborhood  of  Para, 
and  it  employed  eight  months  in  reaching  the  port 
of  Payamino,  which  was  their  first  stopping-place, 
in  the  Province  of  Quixos.  Captain  Texeira, 
leaving  his  crew  there,  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  naval  force,  proceeded  to  Quito  with  some 
of  his  officers,  and  there  gave  an  account  of  his 
voyage  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  fathers  appointed  by 
the  company  and  approved  by  the  Audience  could 
get  ready,  they  all  left  Quito  on  the  16th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1639,  and,  taking  the  road  through  Archi- 
dona,  went  to  join  the  fleet  at  the  port  of  Paya 
mino,  where  it  had  remained. 

Jesuit  missionaries  had  already  been  stationed 
on  the  Maranon ;  only,  however,  in  the  vicinity  of 
its  head-waters,  for  the  Prince  of  Esquilache  being 
then  Viceroy  of  Peru,  the  administration  of  May- 
nas  was  given  to  Don  Diego  Vaca  during  his  life 
time,  and  afterwards  to  his  eldest  son,  Don  Pedro 
Vaca.  This  gentleman  had  solicited  and  effected 
the  conquest  of  those  countries  at  his  own  expense, 
and,  after  having  subdued  the  tribe  of  Maynas  and 
founded  the  city  of  St.  Francis  de  Boya  in  the 
year  1634,  making  it  the  capital  of  his  domain, 


152  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

he  was  induced  by  such  an  auspicious  commence 
ment  to  implore  the  company  and  the  Audience  of 
Quito  to  nominate  persons  of  that  order  to  enter 
upon  the  mission,  which  was  granted  him  with 
great  pleasure,  both  by  the  court  as  well  as  by 
the  company,  and  Fathers  Cuxia  and  Cueva  were 
immediately  appointed  to  found  a  missionary  sta 
tion.  The  missionaries  arrived  at  Maynas  in  the 
year  1637,  by  the  way  of  Patate  ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  reached  the  city  of  Borja,  they  took  charge 
of  that  curacy,  and  began  to  exercise  their  func 
tions  by  instructing  the  Indians  already' reduced, 
and  endeavoring  to  reduce  all  the  rest  of  the  tribe 
who  were  not  yet  civilized. 

After  suffering  great  hardships,  Fathers  Acuna 
and  Artieda  arrived  safely  at  the  port  where  the 
Portuguese  fleet  was  waiting  for  them,  and  reached 
that  city  the  same  year,  in  December,  1639, 
after  ten  months'  journey  by  land  and  by  water. 
After  having  rested  from  the  fatigue  they  had 
undergone,  they  set  sail  for  Spain,  in  order  to 
inform  his  majesty  of  every  thing  that  had  occurred 
in  the  discovery,  and  of  all  the  observations  they 
had  made.  In  1640  they  reached  the  court  of 
Madrid,  and,  having  made  a  representation  of 
what  they  had  seen,  and  having  waited  there  more 
than  a  year  to  solicit  supplies  for  that  extensive 
conquest,  they  could  not  secure  their  object,  be 
cause  the  state  of  anarchy  in  Spain,  which  had 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  153 

resulted  from  riots  connected  with  the  rebellion  of 
the  kingdom  of  Portugal,  naturally  occupied  the 
thought  and  demanded  the  attention  of  the  mon 
arch  and  his  ministers.  The  Jesuit  fathers,  find 
ing  how  difficult  it  was  to  obtain  what  they  wished 
on  an  occasion  so  critical  that  it  allowed  no  time 
for  any  thing  but  to  prepare  an  army  to  check  the 
encroachments  of  the  rebels,  Father  Artieda  de 
termined  to  leave  the  court  and  to  return  to  his 
Province  of  Quito,  there  to  give  impulse  to  the 
mission  through  the  Audience  and  his  college,  in 
whom  he  confided  all  his  hopes.  In  the  year 
1643,  he  returned  to  Quito.  He  gained  the  atten 
tion  of  the  college,  and,  with  a  view  to  inspire 
greater  fervor  in  the  work,  he  again  made  a  tour 
to  the  Maranon,  and,  passing  through  the  capital 
of  Maynas,  took  with  him  Father  Cueva,  his 
assistant  Borja,  and  several  soldiers,  with  whom 
he  penetrated  among  the  tribe  of  Omaguas,  and 
took  legal  possession  of  all  that  province  and  river 
in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  King  Philip  IV.,  as  is 
stated  in  the  report  of  Father  Francis  Figueroa,  a 
member  of  the  Jesuit  order. 

Father  Acuna  thought  it  proper  to  continue 
some  time  at  court,  to  see  if  haply  the  insurrec 
tions  might  be  quelled,  and  his  solicitations  and 
appeals  might  produce  a  favorable  result ;  but, 
finding  that  the  tumults  were  augmenting  more 
and  more,  and  the  progress  of  the  rebels  was 


154  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

giving  the  court  still  greater  anxiety,  he  resolved 
to  follow  his  companion  in  the  galleys  which  sailed 
soon  after,  and,  having  proceeded  from  Panama 
to  Lima,  to  which  city  he  was  called  by  business 
of  a  different  nature,  he  died  there. 

As  the  first  missionaries  who  penetrated  into 
Maynas  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  to  the  In 
dians  found  so  much  fruit  in  the  conversion  of 
those  tribes  that  their  strength  was  not  adequate 
to  such  a  conquest,  the  Indians  having  received 
the  gospel  without  repugnance,  they  applied  to 
Quito  to  have  new  associates  named  to  aid  them 
to  gather  in  such  a  harvest  as  was  likely  to  result 
from  the  docility  of  those  Indians,  and  the  readi 
ness  they  manifested  to  become  Christians.  Their 
petition  was  so  reasonable  that  it  could  not  fail  to 
be  heard ;  and,  in  consequence  of  it,  the  College 
of  Quito  named  Fathers  Perez  and  Figueroa ;  but 
this  reenforcement  not  sufficing  for  the  great  har 
vest  produced  in  those  countries  from  the  seed  of 
the  gospel,  Father  Cuxia  was  compelled  to  pro 
ceed  in  person  to  Quito,  in  the  year  1650,  to  ask 
for  new  laborers.  The  College  of  Quito  granted 
him  three  in  addition,  and  he  returned  with  them 
to  his  station,  where,  being  in  all  seven  in  number, 
and  spreading  themselves  over  those  provinces  of 
Gentile  Indians,  it  was  admirable  to  witness  the 
vast  number  of  souls  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God  by  dint  of  their  labor,  and  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  155 

fatigue  and  inconveniences  of  their  travels,  and 
the  dangers  to  which  they  were  every  moment 
exposed  in  attempting  to  rescue  them  from  such 
ignorance  and  blindness. 

In  the  year  1666,  they  had  already  formed 
thirteen  large  settlements,  well  peopled  with  In 
dians  who  had  been  converted  ;  and  for  this  pur 
pose  they  brought  together  several  of  those  wan 
dering  tribes,  on  whose  account  they  gave  to  the 
settlements  the  names  of  the  most  numerous.* 

These  thirteen  towns,  large  and  populous  as 
they  were,  had  only  seven  missionaries,  and  it 
was  natural  that  each  one  should  have  its  special 
missionary,  to  be  constantly  resident  in  it ;  but,  as 
they  were  destitute  of  them,  besides  being  distant 
from  each  other  six,  eight,  and  even  more  leagues, 
we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  the  simplicity  and  sin 
cerity  of  those  Indians,  and  the  facility  with  which 
they  are  induced  to  comply  with  whatever  may  be 
required  of  them,  when  once  we  discover  the 
method  best  adapted  to  their  genius  to  introduce 
them  to  the  rites  of  the  Christian  religion  and  the 
customs  of  civilized  life  by  channels  which  are 
best  suited  to  their  ideas.  The  old  Christian 
settlements  require  to  have  each  a  special  parish 

*  The  names  of  the  settlements  are  as  follows  :  Xeveros, 
Pambadeques,  Ataguates,  Cutinanas,  Guallaga,  Loreto  de 
Paranapuras,  Ucayale,  Barbados,  Aguanos,  Roa-Maynas, 
San  Antonio,  Zapas,  Coronados. 


156  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

priest  for  the  spiritual  nourishment  of  those  who 
compose  them,  and  with  far  more  reason  is  this 
measure  necessary  in  the  new,  because  these  are 
more  exposed  to  perish  in  inconstancy  and  unbe 
lief,  their  own  imagination  perhaps  bringing  to 
mind  the  independence  of  which  they  had  de 
prived  themselves  to  receive  the  gospel,  —  their 
ancient  rites,  and  the  freedom  in  which  they 
lived,  without  submitting  either  to  divine  or  human 
law  :  the  restraints  of  civilized  life,  the  precepts 
of  religion,  and  the  observance  of  laws  and  cus 
toms  wholly  opposed  to  those  which  are  natural  to 
them,  presenting  themselves  to  the  minds  of  these 
Indians  as  uncongenial  and  burdensome.  The 
want  of  missionaries  in  these  new  conversions  of 
the  Maranon  should  not  be  attributed  to  the  Jesuits, 
for  all  that  this  order  did  previously  was  at  its  own 
expense,  having  no  other  resources  but  those  of 
their  own  revenue  to  defray  the  expenses  incurred 
by  these  missions ;  and  besides  this,  there  were 
very  few  missionaries  sent  over  from  Spain  until 
that  time,  either  because  this  order  had  no  occa 
sion  to  do  it,  and  because  the  supply  had  not  been 
furnished  with  as  much  regularity  as  afterwards, 
not  that  a  reenforcement  was  not  sent  at  all,  but 
because  they  arrived  after  longer  intervals,  or  were 
composed  of  a  smaller  number  of  individuals  — 
reasons  which  did  not  obtain  in  subsequent  times, 
nor  do  they  now  obtain,  for,  on  account  of  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  157 

early  spiritual  conquests  made  by  the  company, 
missionaries  were  sent  over  more  frequently  and 
in  greater  numbers. 

In  the  year  1681,  fifteen  years  after  the  census 
of  the  first  conversions,  the  settlements  had  aug 
mented  with  the  addition  of  eight  new  towns,  but 
not  so  the  number  of  missionaries,  although  in  the 
interval  of  these  fifteen  years  many  missionaries 
had  proceeded  from  Spain  to  Quito,  and  quite 
enough  to  have  those  missions  supplied  with  labor 
ers.  By  the  catalogue  which  follows  we  shall 
come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  settlements  formed 
of  converted  Indians  until  this  year,  and  the  num 
ber  of  missionaries  appointed  to  take  charge  of 
them.* 

The  result,  then,  is,  that  all  the  missions  of 
Maynas  were  then  composed  of  twenty-one  settle 
ments,  and,  as  Father  Rodriguez  says  in  his  His 
tory  of  the  Maranon  and  Amazons,  there  were 
only  four  missionaries  in  them,  which  are  those 
already  named,  and  all  who  had  been  employed 

*  First  Mission.  —  1.  San  Luis  Gonzaga ;  2.  San  Ignacio  ; 
3.  Santa  Teresa. 

Second  Mission.  —  1.  Roa-Maynas ;  2.  Los  Coronados  ; 
3.  Gayes. 

Third  Mission.  —  1.  Xeveros;  2.  Paranapuras;  3.  Chaya- 
vitas ;  4.  Muniches. 

Fourth  Mission.  —  1.  Ucayales  ;  2.  Xitipos  y  Chipeos  ; 
3.  Tibilos ;  4.  Aguanos ;  5.  Guallaga ;  6.  Marapinas ;  7. 
Mayurunas ;  8.  Otanabis. 

14 


158  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

from  the  year  1638,  in  which  they  had  their  first 
establishment,  until  the  beginning  of  1681,  in 
which  that  station  was  commenced  by  missiona 
ries  going  among  those  tribes,  were  twenty-four 
fathers  of  the  company  and  three  lay  brethren,  of 
whom  nearly  all  died. 

The  tribe  of  Omagua  Indians,  which  was  one 
of  the  most  numerous  that  inhabited  the  valley  of 
the  Marafion,  had  despatched  messengers  to  the 
town  of  the  Lagoon,  in  the  year  1681,  entreating 
Father  Lucero,  at  that  time  superior  of  those  sta 
tions,  to  send  them  missionaries,  because,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  kind  treatment  of  the  other  tribes 
which  had  become  subject  to  them,  and  the  ad 
vantages  they  enjoyed  after  having  been  brought 
under  a  system  of  government  so  wise  and  just, 
they  desired  to  add  their  tribe  to  the  number,  to 
enjoy  the  same  benefits,  and,  with  them,  the 
preaching  of  evangelical  doctrine  ;  but  the  mis 
sions  were  so  destitute  of  laborers  that  they  had 
not  the  number  sufficient  to  supply  the  settlements 
already  formed,  and  it  was  impossible  at  that  time 
to  accede  to  their  request.  All  that  the  superior 
could  do  was  to  give  them  reason  to  hope  that,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  first  supply  of  missionaries,  their 
wishes  should  be  complied  with,  some  one  of 
them  being  appointed  to  take  them  under  their 
charge,  acting  their  curate,  which  was  not  car 
ried  into  effect  until  the  year  1686,  when  a 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  159 

mission  composed  of  many  individuals  having  ar 
rived  from  Spain  to  Quito,  some,  although  few  in 
number,  were  appointed  to  lighten  the  burdens 
of  those  who  were  already  in  the  work,  and  one 
of  the  individuals  so  appointed  was  Father  Samuel 
Fritz,  a  native  of  Bohemia,  to  whose  lot  it  fell  to 
go  to  the  new  mission  of  the  Omaguas;  for,  as 
soon  as  these  Indians  had  intelligence  that  new  mis 
sionaries  had  arrived  at  the  Lagoon,  and  that  one 
of  them  was  disposed  to  come  down  to  their  ter 
ritory,  they  went  forward  to  receive  him,  and 
ascended  with  more  than  thirty  canoes  as  far 
as  the  Lagoon,  in  order  to  escort  him  to  their 
country. 

Father  Viva  had  succeeded  Father  Lucero  in 
the  office  of  superior  of  the  stations,  and  being  a 
person  of  extraordinary  capacity  and  endowments, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  Father  Fritz,  he  formed  so  high 
an  estimate  of  his  qualities,  that  it  appeared  to 
him  that  the  choice  could  not  have  fallen  on  any 
one  better  qualified  for  that  undertaking  —  an 
opinion  the  wisdom  of  which  was  justified  by  the 
wonders  he  wrought  in  a  short  time  by  his  preach- 
ing  and  instructions  among  those  tribes  and  sev 
eral  others  which  he  reduced  to  the  bosom  of  our 
Catholic  faith. 

It  may  be  readily  inferred  that,  in  a  tribe  who 
of  their  own  accord  applied  for  missionaries,  it 
would  not  be  necessary  to  toil  so  hard  in  order  to 


160  SECRET   EXPEDITION   TO   PERU. 

draw  their  attention  to  what  is  preached  to  them, 
or  to  make  them  receive  in  sincerity  the  religion 
of  the  true  God  in  which  they  are  instructed,  as 
it  is  in  those  other  tribes  in  which,  as  preparatory 
to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  it  was  necessary 
to  contract  relations  of  friendship  by  going  to  look 
for  them  among  the  mountains,  forests,  and  hidden 
ravines,  where  they  are  scattered  like  wild  beasts. 
As  soon  as  the  Omaguas  were  in  the  presence  of 
their  father,  regarding  him  as  the  redeemer  of 
their  souls,  they  returned  with  him  to  their  terri 
tory,  full  of  mirth  and  joy,  as  was  abundantly 
evident  by  the  festivities  with  which  they  solem 
nized  the  occasion,  transferring  him,  for  this 
purpose,  from  one  canoe  to  another,  as  long  as 
the  voyage  up  the  river  continued.  As  soon  as 
they  reached  the  first  outposts  within  their  juris 
diction,  thinking  it  unsuitable  that  he  should  make 
his  entry  on  foot,  they  vied  with  each  other  in 
bearing  him  on  their  shoulders,  in  company  with 
the  most  distinguished  personages  of  the  suite ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  dances  and  the  varied  music 
of  flutes,  pipes,  and  other  instruments,  after  their 
style,  they  took  him  out  of  the  canoe  on  their 
arrival,  and  conducted  him  to  the  quarters  which 
they  had  in  readiness  for  him  near  their  cabins. 
After  some  days  of  rest  at  that  outpost,  (for  it  had 
not  as  yet  the  importance  of  a  settlement,)  they 
proceeded  to  take  him  to  the  other  islands  inhabited 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  161 

by  the  same  tribe  of  Omaguas,  which  were  more 
than  thirty,  that  they  might  all  know  him  and 
begin  to  look  upon  him  as  their  shepherd.  And 
in  this  way  that  great  mission  had  its  origin,  which 
became  so  prosperous,  that,  in  less  than  three 
years,  almost  all  the  adult  Indians  were  baptized, 
being  already  capable  of  receiving  baptism,  Father 
Fritz  having  administered  this  sacrament  from  the 
beginning  to  all  the  children,  the  latter  not  re 
quiring  to  be  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
faith  in  childhood,  as  is  necessary  in  the  case  of 
adults. 

While  Father  Fritz  was  employed  in  the  reli 
gious  instruction  of  the  Omagua  Indians,  he  re 
ceived  intelligence  of  some  neighboring  tribes 
scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  as  the  Yu- 
rimaguas,  the  Ayzuares,  the  Baromas,  and  others, 
and  learning  that  they  would  not  refuse  to  embrace 
the  Catholic  religion,  proceeded  to  them,  and  found 
them  so  ready  to  receive  it  that  he  began  immedi 
ately  to  catechize  them,  in  order  to  administer  to 
them  the  rite  of  baptism.  So  great  was  the  suc 
cess  that  attended  these  missions,  that,  in  the  year 
1689,  the  Omagua  stations  were  thirty-eight  in 
number,  (the  capital  of  which  was  San  Joaquin;) 
another  belonged  to  the  Turimaguas,  and  two  to 
the  Ayzuari  tribe ;  all  these  were  under  the 
charge  of  Father  Fritz,  so  that,  as  he  himself  re 
lates,  in  his  private  report,  he  had  scarcely  time 
14* 


162       SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

sufficient  in  the  course  of  a  year  to  make  one  visit 
among  them  all,  and  was  able  to  sojourn  with  each 
tribe  only  long  enough  to  instruct  the  adults,  and 
to  baptize  those  who  had  been  born  since  his  last 
visit.  All  the  remainder  of  the  year,  those  Indians 
were  left  to  live  alone,  without  any  other  restraints 
than  their  own  will,  which  was  so  well  inclined 
that  no  occasion  of  disturbance  ever  occurred 
among  them,  nor  did  they  abandon  the  religion  in 
which  they  had  been  instructed,  to  return  to  the 
false  rites  of  Gentile  superstition,  which  they  had 
been  forbidden  to  practise. 

Father  Fritz,  being  exhausted  by  the  fatigue  and 
hardship  consequent  on  a  life  of  continual  journey 
ing  from  one  settlement  to  another,  found  his 
health  impaired  ;  and  his  illness  increased  so-  rap 
idly  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  him  to  go  down 
to  Para,  in  the  year  1689,  to  take  the  advice  of 
the  physicians  of  that  city.  The  Portuguese  sus 
pected  that  his  illness  was  only  a  pretext  for 
making  a  survey  of  all  the  remaining  valley  of  the 
Maranon,  from  the  mouth  of  Black  River  (the 
boundary  of  his  mission)  as  far  as  Para,  and  con 
sequently  detained  him  there,  after  he  had  recov 
ered,  at  the  same  time  communicating  the  intelli 
gence  to  the  court  of  Portugal.  The  result  (which 
was  as  favorable  to  Father  Fritz  as  could  be  desired) 
did  not  reach  Para  until  the  middle  of  the  year  1691, 
when  he  was  restored  to  the  mission.  The  Por- 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       163 

tuguese  government  appointed  an  officer  and  seven 
soldiers  to  accompany  him,  under  pretence  of 
showing  him  respect ;  and  as  soon  as  they  entered 
the  tribe  of  the  Azuaris,  Father  Fritz  wished  to 
dismiss  them,  because  those  Indians  had  discovered 
a  friendly  disposition  towards  him  during  his  pas 
sage  down  the  river,  by  going  up  to  meet  him. 
The  soldiers  did  not  yield  to  his  earnest  request, 
having  in  view  other  objects  distinct  from  those 
they  had  intimated  to  the  father,  as  was  afterwards 
admitted  by  the  Portuguese  officer,  when  they 
reached  the  town  of  Mayavara,  the  last  of  the 
Yarimaguas.  Father  Fritz  again  importuned  the 
Portuguese  to  return,  as  he  was  already  within  the 
limits  of  his  mission ;  to  which  the  officer  said  in 
re~ply,  that  his  not  having  done  so  already  was,  that 
he  had  orders  from  his  governor  to  take  possession 
of  that  territory  as  far  as  that  of  the  Omaguas  in 
clusive,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Portugal,  as 
being  comprised  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  that 
he  would  notify  him  at  once  to  withdraw  from  it 
and  leave  it  unoccupied.  Father  Fritz  wondered 
at  this  determination,  and  the  more  as  it  was  op 
posed  to  the  decision  given  by  the  court  of  Lisbon, 
in  consequence  of  representations  made  by  the 
father  himself  from  Para ;  and  having  confronted 
in  this  manner  the  Portuguese  officer,  he  prevailed 
upon  him  to  let  him  return  without  urging  his  suit 
any  further  for  that  time ;  and  having  descended 


164  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

one  day's  navigation,  they  landed  at  Guapatate, 
opposite  a  town  of  the  same  name,  cleared  a  plot 
of  ground,  and  left  for  a  boundary  a  large  tree, 
known  by  the  name  of  Samona,  indicating  that  the 
territory  as  far  as  that  point  belonged  to  them,  and 
leaving  word  with  some  Indians  that  they  should 
soon  return,  to  make  a  settlement  on  that  spot. 

Father  Fritz,  foreseeing  the  evil  consequences 
that  would  result  to  the  missions  by  the  excessive 
insolence  of  the  Portuguese,  unless  measures  were 
taken  in  time  to  check  them,  and  having  commu 
nicated  the  matter  to  the  superior  of  the  missions 
and  the  governor  of  Maynas,  it  was  determined, 
agreeably  to  the  opinion  of  both,  that  Father 
Fritz  should  proceed  personally  to  Lima,  to  inform 
the  viceroy  of  the  prosperous  state  of  the  missions, 
and  the  danger  which  threatened  them,  that  he 
might  devise  measures  to  thwart  the  designs  of 
the  Portuguese.  The  Viceroy  of  Lima,  Count  of 
Monclova,  and  after  him  the  whole  city,  were  as 
tonished  at  the  success  which  had  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  by  Father  Fritz,  and  the 
account  filled  them  all  with  admiration  ;  but  when 
they  came  to  the  principal  point,  which  was  to  pre 
vent  any  further  encroachments,  on  the  part  of  the 
Portuguese,  upon  the  Spanish  domain,  as  well  as 
upon  that  mission  which  extended  from  the  mouth 
of  the  River  Napo  to  that  of  Black  River,  he  dis 
covered  in  the  viceroy  little  disposition  to  under- 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  165 

take  the  defence  of  that  territory.  This  was  af 
terwards  confirmed  by  the  reply  given  by  the 
count  to  the  memorial  of  Father  Fritz,  as  appears 
from  the  manuscript  narrative  of  this  missionary, 
which  was  in  substance  as  follows  :  "  That,  inas 
much  as  the  Portuguese  were  Catholic  Christians 
as  well  as  the  Spaniards,  and  a  warlike  nation,  he 
had  no  means  at  his  command  adequate  to  in 
duce  them  to  confine  themselves  to  their  own  ter 
ritory,  without  coming  to  a  rupture,  which  was  un- 
advisable  in  the  present  case,  those  uncultivated 
forests  yielding  no  revenue  to  the  King  of  Spain, 
unlike  many  other  provinces  which  ought  with 
more  reason  to  be  protected  against  hostile  inva 
sion  ;  that  in  the  vast  extent  of  the  Indies  there 
were  lands  sufficient  for  both  crowns.  At  the 
same  time,  he  would  lay  the  petition  before  his 
majesty  as  soon  as  possible."  Certain  it  is,  that  if 
these  reasons  had  not  been  recorded  by  a  person 
of  such  virtue,  and  who  possesses  such  claims  as 
that  missionary,  we  should  refuse  to  give  him  cre 
dence,  for  they  seem  more  becoming  a  man  who 
had  thrown  off  his  allegiance  to  princes  lawfully  in 
vested  with  the  territory,  than  of  a  minister  and 
governor  general  of  Spain  in  those  very  Indies, 
whose  defence  against  usurpation  Father  Fritz  was 
soliciting. 

The   stations   which   this   eminent   father    had 
founded  were  composed  of  forty-one  villages,  and 


166  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

so  remote  from  each  other,  that  between  the  first, 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  river,  and  the  last,  on 
the  lowest,  there  intervened  a  distance  of  more 
than  one  hundred  leagues.  All  these  missions  are 
made  up  of  the  union  of  vagrant  tribes,  who  have 
always  inhabited  the  banks  of  that  great  river,  and 
who  are  obliged  by  forming  settlements,  to  live  to 
gether  in  a  rational  and  social  state,  the  missionary 
himself  being  their  priest  and  magistrate,  who  in 
structs  them  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  as  well  as 
in  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Most  of  these  towns  consist  of  Indians 
who  have  been  converted  long  since,  and  brought 
to  a  state  of  civilization  ;  to  these  are  occasion 
ally  added  other  Gentile  Indians,  who,  finding 
themselves  worsted  in  the  continual  wars  which 
they  carry  on  with  the  neighboring  tribes,  and  fly 
ing  from  the  cruelties  with  which  they  are  threat 
ened,  come  to  seek  shelter  under  the  covert  of  the 
missionary  fathers,  a  respect  for  whom  keeps  their 
enemies  in  check.  In  these  cases,  they  improve 
the  opportunity  to  preach  to  them  and  to  teach 
them,  preparing  their  minds  to  receive  baptism ; 
but  they  are  usually  so  fickle,  that,  although  they 
hear  the  gospel  with  sufficient  attention,  mani 
festing  a  desire  to  receive  it,  they  soon  throw 
off  that  fervent  zeal  which  was  awakened  by  the 
fear  which  induced  them  to  leave  their  lands,  or 
by  a  sense  of  obligation  imposed  upon  them  by  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  167 

memory  of  gifts  bestowed,  and  when  they  come 
to  believe  that  the  anger  of  the  tribes  with  whom 
they  were  at  war  is  pacified,  they  return  to  their 
brutal  customs.  At  other  times,  the  curates 
despatch  messengers  to  the  neighboring-  tribes, 
when  they  know  they  will  receive  the  benefit  to  be 
bestowed  upon  them,  or  the  missionaries  go  to  look 
for  them  in  their  cabins,  to  attract  them  by  a  pres 
ent  of  some  gewgaws,  by  which  means  they  suc 
ceed  in  making  them  teachable,  and  inclined  to 
have  a  fixed  place  of  residence,  by  forming  a  set 
tlement,  not  far  from  which  the  missionary  has  his 
place  of  rendezvous,  in  order  to  go  and  visit  them 
frequently,  and  to  instruct  them  in  the  precepts  of 
religion,  that  they  may  become  proper  subjects  of 
baptism. 

When  these  new  towns  are  in  a  condition  to 
support  special  missionaries  or  parish  priests,  and 
there  is  any  security  of  their  stability,  they  are 
then  sent  to  them ;  but  these  conversions  make 
such  slow  progress  that  many  years  elapse  without 
the  addition  of  one  new  station  to  the  old  ;  but 
notwithstanding  this  interval,  some  fruit  never  fails 
to  be  secured,  in  recompense  of  such  incessant 
labor.  This  advantage  results  exclusively  from 
the  missions  which  the  company  have  under  their 
charge,  because  they  pursue  it  with  zeal,  and  per 
severe  with  unabated  fervor  in  such  undertakings, 
not  being  deterred  from  them  by  the  fickleness  of 


168  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

the  Indians,  nor  disheartened  by  the  fatigue  and 
suffering  they  must  necessarily  undergo  in  coun 
tries  and  climates  to  which  they  have  not  been 
accustomed. 

Conducted  on  these  principles,  it  is  evident  that 
if  there  were  zeal  in  the  religious  Orders  to  con 
vert  the  Indians,  missions  would  be  sustained  in  all 
the  possessions  of  Spain  in  that  country,  each  one 
endeavoring  to  gain  the  good  will  of  the  Indians 
by  gentleness  and  civility,*  as  is  the  case  in  Maynas, 

*  The  Incas,  although  governed  only  by  a  simple  natu 
ral  law,  have  left  us  the  admirable  system  of  their  policy  in 
the  maxims  they  observed  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  and  re 
duce  them  to  obedience,  so  as  to  be  beloved  by  them  to  the 
degree  they  were,  and  that  their  laws  might  be  observed  with 
scrupulous  exactness,  which,  while  they  were  mild  and  just, 
did  not  fail  to  be  severe  whenever  it  was  necessary  that  rigor 
should  predominate  over  clemency.  They  conquered  the 
provinces  (when  it  could  not  be  done  by  mild  measures)  by 
force  of  arms ;  and  even  when  these  means  were  resorted  to, 
their  subjects  lived  without  aversion  to  the  authority  which 
held  them  in  subjection,  as  it  could  not  be  otherwise  under 
a  mild  and  beneficent  policy.  The  same  methods  ought  to 
be  adopted  now  towards  those  tribes,  that  they  may  not  ob 
stinately  refuse  to  come  under  the  Spanish  rule ;  for  if  the 
Indians  should  discover  that  the  king's  vassals  live  comfort 
ably)  that  they  are  treated  with  consideration,  and  that  only 
their  own  welfare  is  consulted,  they  would  no  longer  enter 
tain  the  idea  they  now  have  of  the  Spaniards,  as  fearful 
tyrants,  and  their  conversion  would  become  practicable.  The 
laws  enacted  for  their  benefit  are  admirable  :  a  failure  to 
comply  with  them  is  the  source  whence  all  their  sufferings 
originate  ;  but  should  these  abuses  be  reformed,  and  should 
the  Indians  be  treated  as  men  have  a  right  to  be  treated,  it 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  169 

a  Jesuit  mission  ;  and  if  such  be  not  the  general 
practice,  it  is  because  the  whole  aim  of  those  indi 
viduals  is  to  obtain  curacies,  from  which  they  can 
derive  an  income  without  labor  or  encumbrance  ; 
and  this  not  being  possible  in  the  missions,  because 
in  them  they  must  divest  themselves  of  regard  to 
interest,  and  shun  covetousness  altogether,  there  is 
no  individual  who  desires  the  work,  and  no  zeal  in 
the  Orders  to  carry  it  forward.  It  is  one  of  the 
great  calamities  we  have  to  bewail  in  those  coun 
tries,  that,  while  the  convents  are  so  numerous  and 
all  so  wealthy,  the  Indians  should  not  have  the 
benefit  of  the  most  insignificant  portion,  either 
of  the  superfluous  riches  of  their  inmates,  or  of 
the  enormous  revenue  accruing  from  their  es 
tates,  to  be  employed  in  securing  their  salva 
tion  by  means  of  preaching  and  teaching  the 
Word  of  God,  which  ought  to  be  the  grand  and 
only  object  and  employment  of  them  all.  But  in 
the  concluding  chapter,  in  which  we  are  to  speak 
more  in  detail  of  the  monasteries,  it  will  be  made 
to  appear  how  diverse  are  the  pursuits  and  con 
duct  of  those  ecclesiastics  from  what  belong  to 
the  character  of  missionaries.  * 

might  be  hoped  that  the  missions  would  have  a  favorable  re 
sult,  and  those  great  objects  accomplished  in  a  short  period, 
which  have  not  been  effected  in  the  long  period  which  has 
elapsed  from  the  time  of  the  conquest  until  now. 
15 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Prevalence  of  Party  Spirit  between  Europeans  and  Creoles.  — 
Its  chief  Source,  and  the  Evils  resulting  from  it  in  the 
Cities  and  large  Towns. 

IT  can  never  fail  to  be  unseemly,  numerous  as 
the  examples  may  be  of  this  nature,  that,  among  a 
people  of  the  same  country,  of  the  same  religion, 
and  even  of  the  same  blood,  such  enmity,  rancor, 
and  hatred  should  exist,  as  are  found  to  prevail 
in  Peru,  where  the  cities  and  large  towns  have  be 
come  a  theatre  of  discord  and  perpetual  wrangling 
between  Europeans  and  Creoles.  This  enmity  is 
the  source  of  the  repeated  tumults  which  happen 
there  ;  for  the  hatred  engendered  between  the  two 
opposing  interests  becomes  more  and  more  virulent, 
and  the  exasperated  parties  never  lose  an  opportu 
nity  to  breathe  out  vengeance,  and  give  loose 
rein  to  the  passions  and  jealousies  which  are  so 
deefProoted  in  their  hearts. 

To  be  a  European,  or  Chapeton,  as  one  is  called 
in  Peru,  is  reason  enough  for  avowing  one's  self 
an  enemy  to  the  Creoles ;  and  to  have  been  born 
in  the  Indies  is  a  sufficient  cause  for  hating  Euro 
peans.  To  such  a  height  is  this  mutual  ill  will  car- 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  171 

ried,  that  in  some  respects  it  exceeds  the  unbridled 
frenzy  with  which  nations  in  open  war  vilify  and 
outrage  each  other ;  for  if,  in  these,  we  may  hope 
it  will  gradually  subside,  it  is  not  so  with  the  Span 
ish  colonies  in  Peru,  and,  instead  of  being  weak 
ened  by  more  frequent  intercourse,  by  the  influence 
of  family  ties,  or  by  other  motives  which  are 
adapted  to  promote  harmony  and  friendship,  quite 
the  reverse  takes  place  ;  for  the  closer  their  con 
tact,  the  higher  do  the  flames  of  discord  rise,  and 
their  somewhat  smothered  rancor  being  kindled 
again  by  renewed  discussion,  the  fire  gains  strength, 
and  the  conflagration  becomes  inextinguishable. 

Throughout  Peru,  the  spirit  of  party  is  a  malady 
which  prevails  in  all  the  cities  and  large  towns, 
notwithstanding  the  slight  differences  which  may 
be  occasionally  observed,  in  the  greater  or  less 
degree  of  scandal  which  attends  it.  The  dis 
ease  is  so  general,  that  none  are  exempt  from 
it,  neither  the  first  magistrates  of  the  city,  nor 
the  highest  dignitaries  in  the  church  and  in  the 
religious  orders  ;  for  it  attacks  even  those  who 
have  a  reputation  for  wisdom  and  sanctity.  The 
towns  are  made  the  open  theatres  of  the  two  op 
posing  parties  ;  irreconcilable  enmity  disgorges  its 
venom  on  the  seats  of  justice  ;  and  even  in  the 
monasteries,  the  sparks  of  discord  are  kindled  to  a 
raging  flame.  Private  dwellings,  likewise,  where 
the  ties  of  parentage  bind  together  both  Euro- 


172  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

pcans  and  Creoles,  become  storehouses  of  anger 
and  recrimination,  so  that,  upon  due  consideration, 
it  would  be  tame  to  describe  the  scene  as  the  purga 
tory  of  minds,  since  it  comes  to  be  a  hell  of  living 
beings,  who  are  kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  disquiet, 
by  numberless  occasions  of  discord,  which  serve 
as  fuel  to  the  flames  of  hatred. 

It  is  in  the  cities  of  the  mountainous  districts 
that  party  spirit  rises  to  the  greatest  height,  which 
proceeds,  no  doubt,  from  their  isolated  position  ; 
but  in  the  towns  on  the  coast,  where  intercourse 
with  strangers  is  more  frequent,  although  their  in 
habitants  do  not  fail  to  cherish  a  spirit  of  mutual 
animosity,  the  scandal  is  not  so  public  as  in  the 
former,  where  the  attention  cannot  be  diverted 
from  party  questions  by  subjects  of  a  different  na 
ture. 

These  dissensions,  which  are  there  so  common 
and  so  violent,  that,  from  the  time  one  arrives  in 
those  parts,  he  is  made  acquainted  with  them,  and 
very  soon  becomes  implicated  in  them,  must  have 
had  their  origin  in  some  powerful  cause  ;  and  while 
this  is  not  removed,  the  former  must  continue. 
Our  object  in  the  present  chapter  will  be  to  inves 
tigate  it,  for  if  it  is  not  discovered,  it  will  be  im 
possible  to  form  an  adequate  idea  of  it,  or  to  apply 
the  remedy  which  the  evil  demands. 

Although  the  party  feeling  which  exists  between 
Europeans  and  Creoles  may  have  originated  from 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  173 

various  sources,  there  are  two  which  appear  to 
have  more  influence  than  all  the  rest  —  the  exces 
sive  vanity  and  overbearing  manners  of  the  Cre 
oles,  and  the  forlorn  and  penniless  condition  of  the 
Europeans  who  emigrate  to  that  country.  The 
latter  accumulate  a  fortune  with  the  aid  of  rela 
tives  and  friends,  as  well  as  by  dint  of  labor  and 
industry,  so  that  within  a  few  years  they  are  ena 
bled  to  form  an  alliance  with  ladies  of  distinction  ; 
but  the  low  condition  in  which  the  Creoles  first  knew 
them  is  not  wholly  effaced  from  remembrance  ; 
and  on  the  first  occasion  of  misunderstanding  be 
tween  the  European  and  his  relatives,  the  latter 
expose,  without  the  least  reflection,  the  mean  origin 
and  profession  of  the  former,  and  kindle  the  flames 
of  discord  in  all  hearts.  The  Europeans  espouse 
the  cause  of  their  injured  countrymen,  and  the  Cre 
oles  that  of  the  native  women,  and  thus  the  seeds  of 
dissension  spring  up,  which  had  been  sown  in  the 
mind  from  the  remote  period  of  the  conquest. 

It  may  be  readily  supposed  that  the  vanity  of 
the  Creoles,  and  their  lofty  pretensions  to  a  noble 
ancestry,  rise  to  such  a  height  that  they  are  per 
petually  discussing  the  order  and  line  of  their  de 
scent  ;  so  that  it  would  appear,  as  it  respects 
nobility  and  antiquity,  they  have  nothing  to  envy 
in  the  most  illustrious  families  in  Spain,  and, 
treating  the  subject  with  the  ardor  of  enthusiasm, 
they  make  it  the  first  topic  of  conversation  with  the 
15* 


174  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

newly-arrived  Europeans,  in  order  to  acquaint 
them  with  their  noble  origin ;  but  when  this  is  in 
vestigated  impartially,  we  are  met,  at  the  first  step 
we  take,  with  so  many  difficulties,  that  a  family 
can  rarely  be  found  that  has  no  mixed  blood,  not 
to  mention  objections  of  minor  importance.  In 
such  cases  it  is  amusing  to  observe  how  they  be 
come  mutually  the  heralds  of  each  other's  low 
birth,  so  that  it  is  needless  to  investigate  the  sub 
ject  for  one's  self;  for  while  each  one  strives  to 
unfold  and  present  to  view  his  royal  descent,  de 
picting  the  illustrious  origin  of  his  family  in  such 
a  way  that  it  may  not  be  confounded  with  others 
of  the  same  city,  he  brings  to  light  all  their  defec 
tive  titles,  and  the  foul  blots  which  stain  the  purity 
of  his  neighbor's.  The  same  is  repeated  by  these 
last  in  regard  to  the  former,  until  every  circum 
stance  respecting  their  families  is  brought  to  light, 
and  their  true  origin  exposed.  Europeans  them 
selves,  who  marry  ladies  of  rank,  and  who  are  not 
ignorant  of  their  defective  titles,  become  resentful 
when  they  are  taunted  with  their  former  poverty 
and  low  condition,  and  upbraid  them  with  the 
flaws  of  their  boasted  nobility,  and  this  always  fur 
nishes  materials  enough  for  both  to  keep  alive  a 
sensitiveness  to  the  insults  and  injuries  heaped 
upon  them  by  the  opposite  party. 

This  very  vanity  of  the  Creoles,  which  is  more 
observable  in  the  mountainous  districts,  owing  to 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       175 

the  want  of  intercourse  with  foreigners,  except 
such  as  settle  in  the  different  towns,  keeps  them 
aloof  from  labor,  and  from  engaging  in  trade  — 
(the  only  occupation  in  the  Indies  which  can  enable 
them  to  preserve  unimpaired  their  inheritance,)  and 
allures  them  to  the  practice  of  vices  which  are  in 
herent  in  a  life  of  inaction.  Hence  it  is  they  soon 
see  the  end  of  all  which  their  parents  have  left 
them,  by  wasting  their  money,  and  neglecting  the 
cultivation  of  their  estates  ;  and  the  Europeans, 
availing  themselves  of  the  advantages  which  the 
neglect  of  the  Creoles  affords  them,  turn  them  to 
account,  and  amass  an  estate  ;  for  by  engaging  in 
trade  they  soon  succeed  in  getting  upon  a  good 
footing,  enjoy  credit,  accumulate  money,  and  are 
solicited  for  marriage  by  noble  families  ;  for  the 
Creole  women  themselves,  aware  of  the  wasteful 
and  indolent  habits  of  their  countrymen,  hold 
Europeans  in  high  esteem,  and  prefer  to  be  allied 
with  them. 

The  preference  which  the  Creole  women  give  to 
Europeans  for  the  reason  just  mentioned,  the 
fact  that  they  are  the  owners  of  the  richest  estates, 
acquired  and  preserved  by  their  industry  and  econ 
omy,  and  that  they  have  in  their  favor  the  confi 
dence  of  magistrates  and  ministers,  because  their 
behavior  entitles  them  to  it,  are  no  small  motives 
to  stir  up  the  envy  of  the  Creoles;  hence  they 
complain  that  the  Europeans  arrive  barefoot  in 


176  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

their  country,  and  soon  acquire  a  greater  estate 
than  their  fathers  and  country  have  given  them, 
they  being  in  reality  lords  of  the  soil.  This  is  lit 
erally  true,  for  as  soon  as  they  are  married  they 
are  made  regidors,  and  immediately  obtain  the 
place  of  ordinary  alcalde,  so  that  in  the  space  of 
ten  or  twelve  years  they  are  found  at  the  head  of 
one  of  the  chief  cities,  and  have  become  objects 
of  general  esteem  and  applause.  The  man  who 
occupies  this  position  was  once  crying  his  wares 
in  the  streets,  with  a  pack  upon  his  shoulders,  deal 
ing  out  finery  and  trinkets,  which  he  had  bought 
on  credit,  to  set  himself  up  in  trade  ;  but  the  fault 
of  this  is  in  the  Creoles  themselves,  for  if  they 
would  enter  into  an  extensive  trade,  while  they 
have  means  for  it,  they  would  not  waste  a  fortune 
in  the  little  time  that  a  European  needs  to  acquire 
one.  If  the  Creoles  would  eschew  vicious  prac 
tices,  and  maintain  their  own  wives  with  honor  and 
decency,  they  would  not  give  occasion  to  their  own 
countrywomen  to  treat  them  with  aversion  and 
hatred  ;  and  if  they  would  regulate  their  conduct 
by  the  principles  of  virtue,  they  would  always 
have  on  their  side  the  favor  and  esteem  which 
strangers  carry  with  them  ;  but  as  nothing  of  this 
kind  is  congenial  to  their  nature,  the  root  of  envy 
strikes  too  deeply  to  allow  such  sentiments  to  gain 
access  to  their  minds,  nor  do  they  reflect  that  it  is 
they  themselves  who  give  to  Europeans  all  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  177 

esteem,  authority,  and  advantages  which  they 
enjoy. 

From  the  very  birth  of  the  children  of  foreign 
ers,  or  from  the  time  that  the  first  glimmerings  of 
reason,  however  faint,  begin  to  appear,  and  as  soon 
as  reflection  draws  aside  the  veil  of  innocence,  the 
workings  of  hatred  to  Europeans  begin  to  exhibit 
themselves  ;  for  when  their  minds  are  imbued  with 
injurious  impressions  of  their  parents,  which  they 
imbibe  from  their  relatives,  and  which  are  taught 
them  by  the  abominable  example  of  those  who 
ought  to  give  them  a  right  education,  they  cherish 
a  spirit  of  enmity  towards  those  who  begat  them ; 
and,  as  their  hatred  to  Europeans  becomes  more 
inveterate,  they  need  no  other  motive  than  this  to 
declare  themselves  in  after  life  their  avowed  ene 
mies,  which  they  do  from  the  first  opportunity 
they  have  to  exhibit  it,  even  without  fear  or  scru 
ple,  and  perhaps  in  the  very  presence  of  their 
parents.  It  is  a  common  thing  to  hear  them  re 
mark  that,  if  the  blood  of  the  Spaniards,  their 
fathers,  could  be  drawn  from  their  veins,  they 
would  let  it  out,  that  it  might  not  be  mixed  with  that 
which  they  have  received  from  their  mothers  —  an 
absurd,  and  more  than  absurd,  supposition,  for, 
were  it  possible  to  drain  them  of  their  Spanish 
blood,  no  other  would  flow  in  their  veins  but  that 
of  negroes  or  Indians. 

The  Europeans   or   Chapetons  who   arrive   in 


178  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

those  countries  are  generally  men  of  low  origin  in 
Spain,  or  of  a  pedigree  very  little  known,  besides 
having  neither  education  nor  any  good  quality  to 
recommend  them  ;  but  the  Creoles,  disregarding 
distinctions  of  this  nature,  treat  them  all  with 
equal  friendship  and  courtesy  :  it  is  enough  that 
they  have  come  from  Europe,  to  be  honored  as 
persons  of  distinction,  and  to  become  entitled  to 
every  mark  of  esteem ;  and  their  courtesy  is  car 
ried  so  far  that  even  families  of  the  highest  rank 
give  a  place  at  their  table  to  the  very  meanest  who 
emigrate  from  Spain,  even  if  they  should  go  in 
the  character  of  servants ;  hence  they  make  no 
distinction  between  them  and  their  masters,  when 
'they  meet  at  one  of  the  Creoles',  a  seat  being 
given  them  at  their  side,  although  their  masters 
may  be  present ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  obsequious 
courtesy  that  many  Europeans,  who,  on  account 
of  their  inferior  birth  and  education,  would  never 
dare  to  rise  above  their  low  condition,  being  flat 
tered,  after  they  arrive  in  the  Indies,  with  such 
tokens  of  regard,  raise  their  thoughts  above  what 
is  meet,  until  they  reach  the  highest  post  to  which 
ambition  can  aspire.  In  pursuing  such  a  course 
the  Creoles  have  no  better  ground  to  rest  upon 
than  merely  to  say  that  they  are  white,  and  this 
sole  prerogative  entitles  them  to  some  distinction  ; 
nor  do  they  stay  to  inquire  what  their  profession 
is,  nor  to  infer,  by  what  it  really  is,  what  rank 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  179 

they  hold  in  society.  Disastrous  consequences  re 
sult  to  the  Indies  from  this  abuse.  The  origin  of 
it  is,  that,  as  few  families  there  are  legitimately 
white,  —  for  this  distinction  is  confined  to  the  most 
distinguished,  —  the  mere  circumstance  of  being 
white  entitles  one  to  a  position  which  ought  to 
belong  only  to  a  higher  order  of  nobility ;  and, 
therefore,  being  European  merely  by  birth,  apart 
from  every  other  consideration,  they  are  supposed 
to  merit  the  same  courtesy  and  esteem  which  are 
lavished  upon  more  distinguished  individuals,  who 
go  with  an  appointment  from  government,  the 
honor  of  which  ought  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
bulk  of  emigrants. 

In  regard  to  those  who  in  Spain  enjoyed  no 
advantages  of  birth,  the  facility  afforded  them  of 
seeking  promotion  and  forming  an  alliance  with 
those  who  constitute  the  nobility  is  in  proportion  to 
the  attentions  which  are  bestowed,  in  some  cities 
more  than  in  others,  upon  all  Europeans  indiscrim 
inately,  without  regard  to  the  rank  or  office  of  each 
individual ;  for,  apart  from  the  consideration  that  the 
possession  of  an  estate  may  serve  as  an  offset  to 
the  lack  of  nobility,  the  emolument  of  having 
been  born  in  Europe,  as  well  as  that  of  being  a 
white  man,  are  sufficient  to  warrant  the  expectation 
of  connecting  themselves  with  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  families  of  that  country. 

The  Creoles  pass  from  this  extreme  to  another, 


180  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

no  less  pernicious,  when  they  are  provoked  by  a 
real  or  supposed  injury  to  give  vent  to  a  spirit,  of 
revenge  in  the  use  of  insulting  and  opprobrious 
language  ;  they  then  denounce  and  vilify  the  Eu 
ropeans  in  a  mass,  just  as  they  had  obsequiously 
cringed  to  them  at  first ;  and  they  do  not  scruple 
to  revile  them  as  a  worthless,  low-born  race,  as  if 
there  were  no  degraded  condition,  no  ignoble  ori 
gin,  and  no  infamous  blot  which  might  not  be  at 
tributed  to  them  ;  whence  it  is  that  those  on  whom 
the  reproach  falls  avenge  themselves  by  bringing 
to  light  the  flaws  which  are  incident  to  their  own 
families,  and  these  being  closely  allied  with  each 
other,  all  are  in  danger  of  being  consumed  by  the 
raging  flames.  The  Creoles,  in  order  to  vilify  the 
Europeans,  fasten  upon  them  the  circumstance  of 
their  forlorn  condition  at  the  time  they  arrived  in 
the  country,  as  well  as  what  they  slanderously 
report  of  each  other  in  regard  to  the  meanness  of 
their  origin,  so  that  all  become  exasperated  by  the 
exposure  of  their  mutual  defects,  and  live  in  con 
tinual  disquiet  and  turmoil. 

This  is  the  grand  source  of  that  disunion  which 
is  wont  to  create  such  tumults  in  the  settlements 
of  Peru,  and  even  in  those  cities  where  nothing  is 
wanting  to  the  liberty  or  comfort  of  their  citizens, 
and  where  they  might  pass  the  most  agreeable 
and  tranquil  life  that  could  be  desired.  A  spirit 
of  opposition  keeps  them  in  continual  warfare, 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  181 

being  full  of  acrimony  and  evil  surmisings,  and 
plunged  in  a  sea  of  dissensions  and  animosities, 
the  fruit  of  their  own  uncontrolled  passions  and  of 
the  eagerness  with  which  each  individual  strives  to 
defend  the  interests  of  his  own  party. 

As  we  have  already  remarked,  it  is  owing  to 
the  ill-advised  courtesy  with  which  the  Creoles 
treat  the  Spaniards,  when  they  view  them  with  a 
friendly  eye,  and  especially  on  their  first  arrival, 
as  they  are  pledged  to  no  party,  that  the  latter 
carry  their  ambitious  views  far  beyond  what  their 
profession  and  antecedents  would  justify  ;  hence  it 
is  that  those  who  have  learned  a  trade  in  Europe 
refuse  to  follow  it  as  soon  as  they  arrive  in  the 
Indies,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  mechanical 
arts  never  reach  any  greater  degree  of  perfection 
than  they  had  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  the 
Indians  and  mestizoes  being  the  only  classes  who 
are  employed  in  them.  Thus,  while  Spain  is  de 
populated  by  the  vast  numbers  who  emigrate  to 
the  Indies,  those  countries  gain  no  benefit,  each 
individual  being  bent  upon  his  own  interest,  with 
out  contributing  in  any  degree  to  the  general  pros 
perity  of  the  nation. 

There  is  also  another  circumstance  which  con 
tributes  to  the  want  of  order  in  the  social  con 
dition  of  that  country,  which  is,  the  custom  intro 
duced  at  an  early  period,  and  perhaps  from  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  of  granting  the  fueros,  or 
16 


182  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

patents  of  nobility,  to  all  Spaniards  who  would  go 
and  take  up  their  residence  there.  Its  introduc 
tion,  which  might  have  been  justified  at  that  time, 
both  in  recompense  of  military  service  and  to  pro 
mote  the  more  rapid  settlement  of  the  country,  is, 
under  the  present  circumstances,  prejudicial  to 
Spain  as  well  as  to  the  Indies ;  to  Spain,  on  ac 
count  of  the  great  number  who  emigrate  from  it 
to  acquire  in  the  Indies  the  two  possessions  which 
are  most  esteemed  among  men,  and  which  all  do 
not  here  enjoy,  namely,  wealth,  or  the  goods  of 
fortune,  and  nobility;  the  privilege  of  the  latter 
being  freely  bestowed  upon  all  who  go  there,  en 
abling  them  to  hold  offices  and  perform  acts  which 
are  reserved  for  the  nobles,  the  bare  name  of 
Spaniard  being  the  best  patent  there  can  be  in 
those  parts  ;  it  is  also  pernicious  to  the  Indies,  for, 
besides  the  tumults  it  occasions,  the  reproach  it 
brings  upon  the  order  of  nobility,  and  the  idleness 
and  vices  that  are  consequent  upon  it,  the  mechan 
ical  arts,  as  well  as  all  the  arts  of  industry,  which 
are  essential  to  a  well-ordered  republic,  are  com 
pletely  abandoned,  being  held  in  contempt  in  that 
country  by  those  who  have  no  occasion  to  neglect 

or  despise  them  in  this 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Indies,  both  Creoles  and 
Europeans,  and  especially  those  of  Peru,  of  whom 
we  are  now  speaking,  should  they  continue  to  be 
the  loyal  subjects  of  the  king,  and  remain  steadfast 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  183 

in  their  fidelity,  can  have  no  motive  to  covet 
another  kind  of  government,  which  shall  be  more 
advantageous  to  them,  or  a  more  perfect  degree 
of  freedom  than  that  which  they  now  have,  or 
greater  security  for  their  property.  They  all  live 
there  after  their  own  caprice,  without  the  burden 
of  any  other  impost  than  that  of  the  excise  of  the 
Alcalala,  which  is  paid  very  irregularly ;  they 
acknowledge  no  other  obligation  or  duty  to  magis 
trates  than  such  as  they  are  willing  to  render,  and, 
regardless  of  the  decisions  of  the  tribunals,  they 
scarcely  acknowledge  themselves  as  vassals,  for 
each  one  is  a  sovereign  in  his  own  esteem  ;  and 
they  are  such  absolute  proprietors  of  the  country 
and  of  their  possessions  that  they  are  utter  stran 
gers  to  the  fear  of  losing  any  portion  of  them,  in 
the  event  of  prolonged  wars  in  Europe,  which  ex 
haust  the  revenue  of  princes,  and  to  carry  on  which 
the  latter  are  obliged  to  lay  new  taxes  upon  their 
subjects.  A  man  who  owns  an  estate  there  disposes 
of  it,  as  well  as  of  its  produce,  just  as  he  wishes ; 
the  trader  has  an  undisputed  right  to  his  goods  and 
merchandise  ;  the  capitalist  entertains  no  appre 
hension  lest  his  estate  should  be  impaired  by  a 
forced  loan,  or  that  he  should  be  compelled  to 
incur  exorbitant  expenses  ;  the  poor  man  does  not 
absent  himself  from  his  family,  and  become  a 
fugitive,  for  fear  of  being  pressed  into  service 
against  his  will ;  and  so  far  is  the  government 


184  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

from  imposing  fines  upon  the  whites  or  mestizoes, 
that,  if  these  could  appreciate  the  advantages  they 
enjoy,  they  would  be  envied  by  all  nations,  both 
for  the  degree  of  liberty  to  which  they  have  at 
tained,  as  well  as  for  the  excellence  of  the  system 
of  government  under  which  they  live. 

Every  proprietor  becomes  so  arrogant  on  ac 
count  of  what  he  possesses  that  he  is  regarded  as 
a  petty  sovereign  in  his  own  dominions,  being  the 
absolute  disposer  of  them,  and  subject  to  no  other 
law  than  that  of  his  own  caprice.  In  the  cities, 
villages,  and  hamlets,  where  the  landholders  reside, 
they  are  the  oracles  of  the  people,  and  all  the  au 
thority  which  the  corregidors  possess  is  only  what 
is  conceded  to  them  by  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
most  distinguished  citizens,  who  are  imitated  in 
this  respect  by  those  of  inferior  rank.  If  the  cor- 
regidor  keeps  in  favor  with  them,  he  occupies  the 
position  of  an  honest  citizen,  like  any  one  else  ; 
but  if  he  comes  into  collision  with  them  before  the 
tribunals,  or  attempts  to  make  any  display  of  au 
thority,  he  is  resisted  by  force  of  arms,  and,  as 
there  are  none  left  to  render  obedience,  his  post  is 
virtually  vacant ;  and,  should  he  proceed  to  exe 
cute  his  designs,  it  would  be  enough  to  effect 
his  ruin. 

There  are  towns  in  which  contempt  of  author 
ity  has  reached  such  a  point  that  threats  are  often 
carried  into  execution ;  and  if  the  conduct  of  the 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  185 

magistrate  is  not  the  most  prudent  and  wary,  he 
will  have  little  security  of  life.  It  is  true  this  is  a 
case  which  rarely  or  never  happens,  because  the 
corregidors  study  to  promote  their  own  interest, 
and  leave  the  government,  or  the  greater  part  of 
it,  in  the  hands  of  the  alcaldes,  and  by  this  means 
rid  themselves  of  subjects  which  give  them  any 
uneasiness ;  but,  as  cases  occur  in  which  no  dis 
simulation  can  be  used,  it  is  in  these  that  the 
caprice  of  those  people  shows  itself  without  dis 
guise  ;  and,  in  order  to  make  it  better  understood, 
we  shall  quote  one  of  the  numerous  instances 
which  occurred  in  those  provinces  while  we  were 
residing  there. 

In  a  town  in  the  interior,  which  held,  in  point  of 
population,  about  a  middling  rank,  an  altercation 
took  place  between  a  Creole  gentleman  and  a  Eu 
ropean,  which  resulted  in  a  mutual  challenge,  and 
the  parties  went  into  the  field,  accompanied  by 
their  seconds.  One  of  them  was  so  much  injured, 
that,  without  bringing  the  quarrel  to  a  close,  he 
turned  his  back  upon  his  opponent,  and  made  his 
escape,  (after  being  wounded,)  in  order  not  to  lay 
down  his  arms.  This  circumstance  became  so 
generally  known  that  the  individual  who  was 
worsted  in  the  affray,  and  who  determined  to  seek 
revenge,  not  having  courage  to  make  a  second 
attempt,  had  recourse  to  the  base  artifice  of  fur 
nishing  himself  with  weapons,  and  seeking  his 
16* 


186  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

antagonists  when  they  were  off  their  guard.  The 
parties  had  gathered  strength,  and  the  Europeans 
or  Chapetons  having  raised  their  flag  on  one  side, 
and  the  Creoles  on  the  other,  the  scandal  became 
excessive,  and  the  mutual  recrimination  insupport 
able.  The  result  of  the  matter  was,  that  they 
patrolled  the  streets  for  several  nights  in  search 
of  each  other,  and  at  an  hour  when  daylight  had 
scarcely  disappeared.  Although  the  corregidor 
was  there,  he  did  not  attempt  to  use  any  measures 
to  keep  them  in  check,  for,  his  friendly  interven 
tion  having  failed  of  success,  he  thought  he  had 
not  a  force  sufficient  to  justify  any  decisive  meas 
ure.  The  rumor  of  this  tumult  having  reached 
the  capital  city  of  the  province,  orders  were  sent 
to  have  the  guilty  seized  and  punished.  As  soon 
as  the  latter  had  received  intelligence  of  the  order, 
they  put  themselves  in  an  attitude  to  resist  it, 
should  the  Audience  attempt  to  put  it  in  execu 
tion,  augmenting  their  force  with  that  of  the  mes 
tizoes,  servants,  and  others  dependent  upon  them, 
and  seizing  fire-arms  wherever  they  could  find 
them.  The  corregidor,  urged  on  the  one  hand  by 
the  order  of  the  tribunal,  and  fearful,  on  the  other, 
of  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  delinquents, 
availed  himself  of  an  artifice  suggested  by  pru 
dence  to  conciliate  all  parties,  without  hazard  to 
himself,  and  that  was,  to  send  them  a  polite  mes 
sage,  requesting  permission  to  visit  their  houses, 


SECRET   EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  187 

under  a  pledge  that  he  would  not  approach  the 
apartment  to  which  they  should  retreat.  The  lat 
ter,  aware  that  they  should  incur  no  risk  by  so 
doing,  and  that  the  result  to  them  would  be  favor 
able,  consented  to  let  him  in,  and  they  withdrew 
to  a  room  which,  on  being  closed,  served  for  a 
place  of  defence.  The  corregidor  arrived  with 
his  secretary,  high  sheriff,  and  several  inferior  of 
ficers,  signifying  by  that  formidable  array  that  the 
prisoners  were  to  be  apprehended,  and  commenced 
searching  the  house,  without  venturing  near  the 
apartment  where  the  culprits  lay  hid,  (which  was 
as  well  known  to  the  secretary  and  his  suite  as  it 
was  to  the  corregidor,)  and  not  having  found  them 
in  any  of  those  rooms  which  had  been  examined, 
the  process  was  concluded,  and  satisfaction  given 
to  the  Audience  by  the  testimony  of  competent 
witnesses.  As  soon  as  the  corregidor  had  with 
drawn,  the  others  emerged  from  their  retirement, 
and  began  to  appear  in  public,  as  if  no  attempt 
had  ever  been  made  to  seize  them.  The  Audience 
knew  all  that  had  occurred,  but  winked  at  it,  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  not  possible  for  the  corregi 
dor  to  adopt  more  efficient  measures.  We  arrived 
in  that  town  about  six  months  after  this  took  place, 
and  having  received  attentions  from  both  parties, 
we  succeeded  in  effecting  a  reconciliation  between 
them,  and  thereby  preventing  any  further  evil 
results  from  that  scandalous  division. 


188       SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

The  domineering  spirit  both  of  the  laity  and 
clergy,  who  introduce  these  dissensions,  prevails 
in  both  in  an  equal  degree,  yet  it  exists  to  such  an 
excess  in  the  latter  as  to  awaken  new  zeal  and 
give  greater  impulse  to  the  former,  who  confident 
ly  rely  on  their  assistance  whenever  occasion 
should  require.  The  whole  clerical  staff  is  impli 
cated  in  these  riots,  and  the  religious  orders  exceed 
all  the  rest,  (that  of  the  Jesuits  excepted,)  by  in 
terfering  in  subjects  which  do  not  belong  to  them, 
and  which  are  not  appropriate  to  their  profession. 
Not  only  those  who  wear  the  habit,  but  even  their 
servants  and  dependants,  have  the  insolence  to 
cast  reproach  upon  the  civil  magistrate ;  and  the 
pernicious  example  which  they  give  to  the  laity  is 
the  reason  why  the  latter  assume  a  bolder  front, 
and  trample  on  the  authority  of  their  superiors. 
It  is  in  those  countries  that  contempt  of  law 
serves  as  pastime  to  ecclesiastics,  who,  in  reliance 
upon  the  immunities  they  enjoy,  have  the  effron 
tery  to  make  sport  of  the  civil  magistrate,  what 
ever  rank  he  may  hold.  Perhaps  in  no  other 
country  in  the  world  do  we  see  priests  with  arms 
in  their  hands  boldly  defying  a  corregidor  even  in 
his  own  house,  and  exposing  him  to  the  scorn  of 
the  populace.  There,  too,  may  be  seen  bands  of 
monks,  of  twenty  or  more,  in  masks,  rushing 
through  the  streets  and  provoking  tumults,  such  as 
would  be  looked  for  only  from  the  lowest  and 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       189 

most  reckless  mob.  It  is  there  they  have  the  au 
dacity  to  enter  the  prison,  armed,  and,  without  fear 
of  resistance,  to  set  at  liberty  culprits  under  the 
just  sentence  of  the  law  —  an  occurrence  which 
took  place  in  Cuenca  only  a  few  days  before  our 
arrival  in  that  city  in  1740.  It  is  there  that  the 
high  sheriff  has  not  courage  to  violate  the  sanctu 
ary  of  the  private  dwellings  of  the  priests,  to  ar 
rest  criminals  that  have  taken  refuge  in  them,  as 
we  ourselves  witnessed  in  the  town  of  Lambayeque 
in  the  year  1741.  As  we  passed  through  that 
town  on  our  way  to  Lima,  it  happened  that  a  com 
mon  priest  had  the  insolence  to  attempt  to  beat  the 
corregidor,  because  he  went  to  his  house  to  seize 
a  culprit,  who  had  just  stabbed  a  townsman,  and 
had  fled  thither  for  refuge.  In  a  word,  it  is  there 
where  justice  has  no  power  to  enforce  her  de 
mands. 

It  is  by  such  examples  as  these  that  the  laity 
are  emboldened  by  the  clergy  to  treat  their  judges 
with  contempt,  and  to  practise  their  detestable 
vices  without  restraint. 

It  will  not  be  thought  strange  that  ecclesiastics 
should  show  such  contempt  for  justice,  when  they 
exhibit  the  same  temper  towards  their  prelates,  this 
being  another  reason  why  it  is  impossible  to  lay 
hold  of  them,  and  to  chastise  their  insolence,  as 
much  so  as  it  is  to  attempt  to  reform  the  compli 
cated  machinery  of  abuses  introduced  into  that 


190  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

country,  and  which  have  become  inveterate  from 
the  days  of  the  first  colonists  that  emigrated 
thither.  These  disorderly  proceedings,  the  sources 
of  which  are  such  and  so  various,  are  incorrigible  : 
their  causes  cannot  be  removed,  and  should  any 
attempt  be  made  to  reform  them  in  part,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  stay  their  future  progress.  The 
wise  choice  of  rulers  and  magistrates,  who  are  dis 
interested,  impartial,  of  sound  morals,  condescend 
ing  to  all,  and  severe  only  towards  those  whose 
unrighteous  conduct  renders  them  deserving  of 
punishment  —  this  is  the  only  method  of  reform 
which  can  be  introduced,  and  if  this  fails  to  im 
pose  the  necessary  restraints,  and  to  bring  those 
people  back  to  their  reason,  we  know  of  no  other 
which  is  adequate  to  the  object  proposed  ;  for, 
whatever  be  the  means  that  can  be  devised,  it  ap 
pears  as  if  they  wholly  lose  their  efficacy  in  the 
distance  itself,  as  well  as  in  the  mode  of  putting 
them  in  operation. 

NOTE.  The  authors  of  the  "Secret  Expedition"  have 
expressed  their  opinion  that  some  of  the  Creoles  are  qualified 
to  hold  offices  under  government ;  but  they  have  merely 
alluded  to  the  unwise  policy  of  the  mother  country  in  the 
selection  of  public  functionaries  who  became  a  reproach  to 
the  nation. 

The  church  livings  in  America  were  numerous,  and  richly 
endowed,  but  almost  all  vacancies  were  filled  by  ecclesiastics 
from  Spain.  It  was  a  common  thing  to  see  the  whole  staff 
of  a  cathedral,  from  the  bishop  to  the  lowest  officer,  made  up 
of  Europeans.  A  successor  was  nominated  to  a  see  long 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  191 

before  the  post  became  vacant,  and  the  candidate  only  awaited 
the  news  of  the  death  of  a  dignitary  in  order  to  get  his  cre 
dentials  sealed,  and  to  go  and  take  possession  of  his  incum 
bency.  The  Creoles  were  still  more  rigorously  excluded  from 
the  judiciary.  The  regents,  oydors,  and  fiscals  of  the  Audi 
ence,  as  well  as  the  governors  and  their  assistants,  the  secre 
taries  and  assessors,  all  went  from  Spain.  It  was  the  same 
in  the  branch  of  the  exchequer.  The  collectors,  comptrol 
lers,  and  even  appraisers  of  the  custom-house ;  the  intend- 
ants,  treasurers,  officers,  and  other  functionaries  of  the  royal 
exchequer,  were  exclusively  Europeans.  As  to  promotions 
in  the  army,  there  was  scarcely  an  officer  in  the  regular 
troops  :  the  military  honors  to  which  a  native  of  the  country 
could  aspire,  however  rich  or  distinguished  he  might  be,  were 
confined  to  the  rank  of  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  a  militia 
that  had  never  passed  muster.  Even  the  monks  maintained 
a  kind  of  warfare  in  the  convents,  to  prevent  any  Creole  col 
league  from  being  chosen  provincial  or  prior  in  the  capitu 
lary  elections. 

But  the  chief  source  of  irritation  and  discontent  was  the 
character  of  the  individuals  promoted  to  office.  The  domes 
tic  of  a  secretary  of  state  was  confident  of  having  his  obse 
quiousness  rewarded  by  an  appointment  in  America ;  the 
brother  of  a  courtesan  lady,  who  enjoyed  the  protection  of 
some  one  of  the  grandees,  was  named  intendant  of  a  prov 
ince  ;  the  intriguing  jurist,  who  had  served  as  the  instrument 
of  defending  the  suit  of  some  favorite  at  court,  was  ap 
pointed  regent  or  oydor  of  an  Audience  ;  the  hair-dresser  of 
some  royal  personage  confidently  expected  to  see  his  son 
promoted  to  the  office  of  collector  of  customs.  If  an  officer 
in  the  family  of  one  of  the  grandees  had  dishonored  his  sta 
tion  by  cowardice  or  vile  conduct,  he  was  sent  to  the  Indies, 
with  the  rank  of  general,  inspector,  or  commander  of  a  for 
tress  ;  or  if  an  ignorant  chaplain  were  found  there,  he  was 
promoted  either  to  a  bishopric  or  to  the  deanery  of  a  cathe 
dral  ;  or  if  a  son  were  thought  to  be  incorrigible,  and  had  be 
come  the  reproach  of  his  family,  he  was  sent  to  America, 
bearing  some  important  commission.  Several  Creoles,  it  is 


192  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

true,  have  been  appointed  bishops  in  America,  and  generals  in 
Spain,  but  these  were  either  the  sons  of  those  European  func 
tionaries,  who  were  promoted  by  their  parents,  through  the 
influence  of  their  relatives  and  friends  in  the  peninsula,  or 
those  who  had  been  sent  to  Spain  in  boyhood,  and  who  had 
continued  to  reside  there  permanently,  and  who  are  not  to 
be  ranked  with  the  natives  of  the  Indies.  At  the  same  time, 
the  king's  ministers  alleged  instances  like  these,  however 
rare,  to  prove  that  the  posts  of  honor  and  emolument  were 
equally  accessible  to  Europeans  and  Creoles.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  strange  that  quarrels  should  have  ensued ;  it  is 
rather  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Creoles  have  borne  the 
yoke  so  long  and  so  patiently.  Having  none  to  listen  to 
their  complaints,  their  only  alleviation  was  the  wretched  re 
source  of  vilifying  and  hating  the  usurpers  of  their  rights. 
This  motive  alone  would  have  been  sufficient  to  justify  the 
emancipation  of  those  countries.  —  David  Barry,  Esq. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Gross  Licentiousness  of  the  Clergy  in  general,  and  particu 
larly  of  the  Monks. — Tumults  attending  the  capitulary 
Elections. — Their  principal  Cause. 

WE  enter  upon  this  chapter  of  our  report  with 
some  diffidence,  both  on  account  of  the  subject  in 
general,  as  well  as  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  its 
details,  which  must  be  communicated  with  due 
regard  to  the  elevated  station  of  the  individuals 
of  whom  we  are  to  speak;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  should  make  ourselves  liable  to  the  im 
putation  of  partiality  or  injustice,  were  we  to  pass 
over  in  silence  the  dissolute  practices  which  are 
observable  in  them.  The  offence  is  of  a  public 
nature,  and  hence  no  artifice  can  be  used  to  screen 
it  from  the  observation  of  the  secretaries ;  and  if 
this  were  practicable,  it  would  preclude  the  possi 
bility  of  devising  suitable  measures  of  reform. 
The  ministers  are  the  safest  channel  through 
which  our  sovereigns  can  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  state  of  government  in  their  dominions,  the 
conduct  of  their  envoys  and  judges,  and,  finally, 
of  the  system  of  jurisdiction  under  which  the  col 
onists  live.  To  attempt  to  conceal  this  information 
17 


194  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

would  be  to  wish  that  it  might  never  reach  the 
ears  of  the  prince,  and,  consequently,  to  discoun 
tenance  the  reform  of  immoral  practices,  which 
would  be  the  same  as  to  connive  at  their  existence. 
Even  if  we  were  entitled  to  no  other  consideration 
than  that  which  belongs  to  any  of  his  majesty's 
subjects,  it  would  suffice  to  warrant  the  discussion 
not  only  of  this  topic,  but  of  every  other  compre 
hended  within  the  sphere  of  our  inquiries ;  but 
when  we  add  the  powerful  9ne  of  having  had 
assigned  us,  among  other  offices  of  trust,  that  of 
examining  the  government  and  condition  of  those 
kingdoms,  it  would  be  culpable  in  us,  after  hav 
ing  discharged  this  duty,  to  withhold  the  result  of 
our  investigations ;  for,  although  the  sacred  char 
acter  of  the  persons  interested  might  entitle  them 
to  some  consideration,  that  very  character,  as  it 
renders  their  crimes  more  aggravated,  furnishes 
an  occasion  of  severe  rebuke,  inasmuch  as  reli 
gion  itself  is  implicated,  which  tolerates  no  form 
of  connivance  or  excuse. 

In  Peru,  the  body  of  ecclesiastics  is  made  up 
of  two  orders  —  the  secular  and  regular  clergy ; 
the  former  comprising  the  parish  priests,  and  the 
latter  the  monks.  The  individuals  who  compose 
both  these  orders  are  guilty  of  such  licentiousness, 
that,  making  due  allowance  for  the  frailties  to 
which  human  nature  is  liable,  and  the  weaknesses 
to  which  men  of  every  class  are  subject,  it  would 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  195 

appear  that  those  ecclesiastics  regard  it  as  their 
peculiar  privilege  to  go  before  all  others  in  the 
career  of  vice  ;  for  while  they  are  under  the  most 
sacred  obligations  not  only  to  practise  virtue,  but  to 
correct  the  errors  incident  to  frail  nature,  it  is  they 
who,  by  their  pernicious  example,  sanction  the 
practice  of  iniquity,  and  in  a  measure  divest  it  of 
its  heinous  nature. 

The  parish  priests  are  extremely  vicious  in  their 
habits  ;  but,  whether  it  happen  that  an  error  or 
crime  in  them  attracts  less  notice,  or  whether  they 
are  more  careful  to  conceal  it,  or  for  both  reasons, 
which  is  the  most  probable,  disgraceful  as  the 
consequences  are  known  to  be,  they  never  reach 
such  a  degree  of  scandal  as  do  those  of  the  monks  ; 
for  the  latter,  from  the  first  step  they  take,  and 
even  without  leaving  the  monasteries,  pursue  a 
course  of  conduct  so  notorious  and  shameful  that 
it  becomes  offensive  in  the  extreme,  and  fills  the 
mind  with  horror. 

Concubinage,  as  being  the  most  general  and 
scandalous,  holds  the  first  place  among  the  vices 
of  Peru.  All  are  implicated  in  it  —  Europeans, 
Creoles,  the  single  as  well  as  the  married,  and  the 
priests,  both  secular  and  regular.  A  remark  so 
comprehensive  in  its  nature  might  be  deemed  hy 
perbolical  ;  but,  in  order  to  substantiate  the  truth 
of  it,  we  shall  give  some  examples  which  we  have 


19G  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

had  occasion  to  observe,  and  we  shall  cite  them  in 
the  order  which  the  subject  seems  to  demand. 

Concubinage  is  so  general  in  those  countries 
that  the  practice  of  it  is  esteemed  a  point  of  honor, 
particularly  in  the  small  towns ;  and  when  a 
stranger  arrives  and  continues  his  residence  there 
for  some  time  without  having  adopted  the  customs 
of  the  country,  his  continence  is  attributed  not  to 
a  principle  of  virtue,  but  to  the  passion  of  avarice, 
as  it  is  generally  supposed  that  he  lives  so  in  order 
to  save  money.  Soon  after  our  arrival  in  the 
Province  of  Quito,  we  proceeded,  jointly  with  the 
French  company,  to  a  plain  a  little  more  than  four 
leagues  distant  from  that  city,  where  we  were  to 
make  our  first  measurement,  as  a  basis  of  subse 
quent  observations ;  and  in  order  to  be  in  the 
vicinity  of  our  encampment,  we  took  lodgings  on 
one  of  the  numerous  plantations  in  that  valley, 
and  on  Sundays  and  holidays  we  were  accustomed 
to  go  to  the  neighboring  villages  to  hear  mass. 
After  we  had  been  there  some  days,  the  people 
of  the  village  asked  after  our  concubines,  directing 
their  inquiries  to  those  who  lived  on  the  planta 
tions  ;  and  on  being  told  that  we  lived  without 
women,  they  could  not  refrain  from  expressing 
their  astonishment  that  such  a  thing  could  take 
place,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  so  common  every 
where  except  in  that  country. 


SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU.       197 

This  vice  having  become  so  prevalent,  it  will 
not  be  thought  strange  that  those  who  are  bound 
by  their  profession  to  avoid  it  should  participate  in 
it;  for  a  practice  which  is  so  general  easily  insin 
uates  itself  among  those  who  strive  to  keep  them 
selves  from  the  contagion  of  it,  and,  as  a  love  of 
reputation  fails  to  oppose  any  obstacle,  the  invet 
erate  habit  gains  strength,  until  it  triumphs  over 
all  sense  of  shame  and  all  the  salutary  restraints 
of  fear. 

Want  of  discipline  in  the  convents  opens  the 
door  to  licentious  practices.  In  large  cities,  the 
greater  part  of  the  monks  live  in  private  houses, 
for  the  convents  furnish  an  asylum  to  those  only 
who  cannot  keep  house,  or  to  the  choristers,  novi 
tiates,  and  such  like,  who  live  there  from  choice. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  small  cities,  villages,  and 
hamlets.  The  doors  of  the  monasteries  are  kept 
open,  and  the  monks  live  in  their  cells,  accompa 
nied  by  their  women,  and  lead  in  every  respect 
the  life  of  married  persons. 

In  order  to  live  without  the  walls  of  the  con 
vent,  a  monk  of  any  of  the  orders  (except  that 
of  the  Jesuits)  must  have  one  of  the  following  rea 
sons  to  allege  —  either  that  he  has  an  incumben 
cy,  or  that  he  has  bought  an  estate  with  his  own 
property,  or  that  he  has  taken  a  lease  of  some  one 
of  the  many  which  are  owned  by  the  convents, 
and  which  are  abandoned  for  want  of  cultivation.  •/ 
17* 


198  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Any  one  of  these  circumstances  furnishes  him  a 
sufficient  excuse  for  keeping  a  house  in  the  city, 
and  for  making  it  his  home  whenever  he  has  occa 
sion  to  go  there,  rather  than  to  live  in  the  convent. 
Those,  likewise,  who  hold  masterships,  and  who 
have  been  promoted  to  the  highest  honors  in  the 
gift  of  their  order,  although  usually  residing  in 
the  convent  by  virtue  of  their  institute,  are  allowed 
to  keep  their  private  houses  in  the  city,  where 
their  women  and  children  usually  live,  and  where 
they  pass  most  of  their  time.  They  do  this  with 
so  much  freedom  and  sense  of  security  that  the 
moment  they  are  threatened  with  serious  illness 
they  take  up  their  abode  there,  as  they  would  in 
an  infirmary,  abandoning  the  convent  altogether ; 
and  even  when  they  have  no  such  pretext,  they 
usually  absent  themselves,  and  visit  the  monastery 
merely  to  say  mass,  and  to  pass  their  time  there 
when  it  suits  their  caprice  or  convenience. 

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned  facts,  these 
individuals  use  so  little  care  to  disguise  their  con 
duct  that  they  appear  to  make  incontinence  a 
matter  of  boasting  ;  they  would  imply  as  much  as 
this,  when  they  go  on  a  journey,  by  taking  with 
them  their  concubines,  children,  and  servants,  as 
if  to  publish  to  the  world  their  abandoned  mode 
of  living.  We  have  met  them  very  frequently  on 
the  highway  in  this  style,  but  have  noticed  them 
•  more  particularly  on  the  assembling  of  the  chapters ; 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  199 

for  all  who  are  present  on  these  occasions  enter 
the  city  publicly  with  their  whole  family,  having 
either  a  vote  to  cast  or  a  living  to  solicit ;  and 
when  the  election  is  over,  they  go  out  in  the  same 
manner,  some  to  take  a  higher  rank  in  other  con 
vents,  and  others  to  be  installed  over  a  vacant 
curacy.  We  happened  to  be  residing  in  Quito 
when  the  time  arrived  for  assembling  the  chapters 
in  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  and,  having  taken 
lodgings  in  that  neighborhood,  we  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  seeing  distinctly  all  that  was  taking  place. 
For  the  space  of  fifteen  days  prior  to  the  meeting 
of  the  chapters,  it  was  a  source  of  amusement  to 
idle  persons  to  look  at  the  monks  as  they  entered 
the  city  with  their  concubines,  and,  for  more  than 
a  month  after  the  chapters  were  closed,  it  was 
equally  amusing  to  see  those  who  were  on  their 
return  to  their  new  destination.  It  happened  at 
this  time  that,  while  a  monk  was  living  with  all  his 
family  opposite  to  the  house  where  we  were  re 
siding,  one  of  his  sons  suddenly  fell  ill  and  died. 
The  same  day,  at  two  in  the  afternoon,  the  whole 
body  of  friars  went  to  sing  a  response  over  him, 
and,  at  the  close  of  it,  each  individual  came  for 
ward  to  express  his  sympathy  for  the  mourner. 
This  could  be  seen  distinctly  by  us,  the  balconies 
of  one  house  being  opposite  to  those  of  the  other, 
exposing  the  whole  to  view,  although  the  ceremo 
nies  were  performed  without  any  design  of  con 
cealment, 


200  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

Strange  as  this  may  seem,  it  is  nothing  in  com 
parison  with  what  sometimes  occurs.  It  is  natu 
rally  to  be  supposed  that  there  is  scarcely  one  who 
escapes  the  contagion  of  vice,  whether  he  reside  in 
the  city,  on  an  estate,  or  in  his  own  curacy ;  for, 
whether  it  be  in  one  place  or  another,  they  all  live 
in  the  same  loose  and  profligate  manner.  But  the 
most  notorious  circumstance  of  all  is,  that  these 
convents  have  been  converted  into  public  brothels, 
particularly  in  the  smaller  settlements,  and  that, 
in  the  large  towns,  they  have  become  the  scene 
of  such  unheard-of  abominations  and  execrable 
vices  that  the  mind  wavers  in  uncertainty  as  to  what 
opinion  the  inmates  have  formed  of  religion,  or 
whether  they  live  in  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  the 
Catholic. 

In  the  smaller  towns,  under  the  pretext  that  the 
monks  are  few  in  number,  the  doors  of  the  mon 
asteries  are  kept  open,  and  women  go  in  and  out 
at  all  times  for  the  purpose  of  cooking,  washing, 
and  waiting  on  the  friars,  and  performing  all  the 
services  which  usually  devolve  upon  the  lay 
^brothers.  Likewise  the  concubines  have  free 
access  at  all  hours,  not  only  without  impediment, 
but  without  so  much  as  attracting  notice,*  of 
which  we  shall  give  two  examples,  which  will 
place  the  truth  of  it  beyond  a  doubt. 

*  The  women  of  the  monks  no  longer  live  in  the  monas 
teries,  but  in  the  streets  in  the  vicinity.  — TR. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  201 

It  was  on  the  eve  of  our  departure  from  Quito, 
on  our  tour  to  Cuenca,  that  we  visited  one  of  the 
convents  to  take  leave  of  some  of  the  inmates, 
whose  acquaintance  we  had  made  during  our  stay 
in  that  city.  We  entered  one  of  the  cells  or 
apartments,  in  which  we  found  a  monk,  accom 
panied  by  three  females  of  respectable  appear 
ance,  who  were  seated  by  the  bedside  of  the  friar 
to  whom  our  visit  was  made,  but  who  was  so  ill 
that  he  did  not  recognize  us.  The  females  were 
busy  in  applying  remedies  suited  to  effect  his  re 
covery.  On  inquiring  of  the  first  monk  the  occa 
sion  of  this  sudden  illness,  he  told  us,  in  few 
words,  that  the  young  woman  who  seemed  most 
officious  in  her  attentions,  and  betrayed  evi 
dent  indications  of  deep  sympathy,  was  his  con 
cubine,  with  whom  he  had  had  a  quarrel  the 
day  previous,  and,  exasperated  as  he  still  was 
with  her,  she  very  imprudently  seated  herself  at 
the  door  of  a  church  attached  to  a  nunnery,  where 
he  happened  to  be  preaching  at  that  hour.  Her 
presence  threw  him  at  once  into  a  transport  of 
rage,  and  the  attack  which  occasioned  his  illness 
seized  him  so  unexpectedly  that  he  could  neither 
proceed  with  his  discourse  nor  recover  the  use  of 
his  reason.  The  said  monk  took  occasion  from 
this  circumstance  to  speak  at  large  of  the  miseries 
of  this  life,  and,  when  he  had  concluded,  he  in 
formed  us  that,  of  the  other  two  young  women, 


202  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

one  belonged  to  him,  and  the  other  to  the  superior 
of  the  convent. 

On  another  occasion,  a  French  gentleman,  who 
was  associated  with  us  in  our  expedition,  being 
present  at  one  of  the  numerous  fandangoes  or 
balls  which  are  so  common  there,  entered  into 
conversation  with  a  lady  who  had  been  invited, 
and,  as  midnight  was  then  approaching,  she  ex 
pressed  a  desire  to  return  home.  The  gentleman 
offered  to  accompany  her.  She  accepted  the  offer, 
and,  without  making  any  apology,  proceeded  di 
rectly  to  one  of  the  convents  of  friars,  ascended 
the  steps,  and  knocked.  The  French  gentleman 
knew  not  what  to  think  of  it,  but  waited,  somewhat 
confused,  to  see  where  it  would  end,  which  he  soon 
discovered  to  his  astonishment ;  for  when  the 
porter  opened  the  door,  the  lady  bade  him  good 
night,  and,  thanking  him  for  his  politeness,  went 
in.  We  may  imagine  the  surprise  of  this  gentle 
man,  who  until  then  had  not  been  accustomed  to 
such  open  profligacy  of  manners  ;  but  as  such  oc 
currences  were  frequently  repeated  afterwards 
under  our  own  eye,  neither  he  nor  ourselves  re 
garded  them  any  longer  with  surprise. 

Were  we  to  enumerate  all  the  similar  occur 
rences  which  took  place  during  our  stay  in  those 
countries,  they  would  fill  a  large  volume  ;  but  we 
have  said  enough  to  explain  what  that  is  of  which 
we  speak,  without  trespassing  too  far  in  recording 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  203 

facts  of  such  a  revolting  nature.  But  at  the  same 
time,  we  shall  not  neglect  the  opportunity  of  com 
municating  whatever  the  subject  before  us  seems 
to  demand. 

The  greater  part  or  all  of  the  enormities  commit 
ted  in  those  wanton  fandangoes,  which  are  so  com 
mon  in  those  countries,  appear  to  be  inventions  sug 
gested  by  the  infernal  spirit  himself,  to  keep  those 
people  in  greater  bondage  ;  but  it  is  exceedingly 
strange,  and  even  incredible,  that  the  choice  of  in 
struments  to  begin  and  carry  on  such  dissolute  prac 
tices  should  be  such  as  it  is,  and  so  fitted  to  excite 
horror  and  aversion.  These  fandangoes,  or  balls, 
are  usually  devised  by  the  members  of  the  religious 
orders,  or  more  properly  by  those  who  call  them 
selves  religious,  although,  in  fact,  they  are  far 
from  being  so  ;  for  it  is  they  who  pay  the  expense, 
who  attend  in  company  with  their  concubines,  and 
who  get  up  the  fray  in  their  own  houses.  Simul 
taneously  with  the  dance,  the  immoderate  use  of 
ardent  spirits  begins,  and  the  entertainment  is  grad 
ually  converted  into  acts  of  impropriety  so  un 
seemly  and  lewd,  that  it  would  be  presumption 
even  to  speak  of  them,  and  a  want  of  delicacy  to 
stain  the  narrative  with  such  a  record  of  obsceni 
ties  ;  and,  letting  them  lie  hid  in  the  region  of 
silence,  we  shall  only  remark,  that  whatever  the 
spirit  of  malice  could  invent  in  respect  to  this  sub 
ject,  great  as  it  might  be,  it  could  never  fathom 


204  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

that  abyss  into  which  those  corrupt  minds  are 
plunged,  nor  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the  degree 
of  excess  to  which  debauchery  and  crime  are  car 
ried.  The  peculiar  position  of  those  who  take  the 
lead  in  those  scenes  of  riot  excites  surprise,  not 
merely  that  the  members  of  a  religious  order 
should  inconsiderately  abet  the  scandals  of  the 
laity,  but  that  they  should  in  this  manner  originate 
them,  and  serve  as  pioneers  to  those  who  are  en 
tering  upon  the  paths  of  vice.  We  have  nothing 
to  corroborate  the  truth  of  this  but  experience  itself, 
together  with  actual  occurrences  and  the  publicity 
of  facts,  which  are  of  such  a  nature  that  children 
inherit  the  titles  of  rank  held  by  their  parents  ;  and 
we  see,  not  without  surprise,  in  a  city  like  Quito, 
scores  of  lady  provincials,  prioresses,  lady  guardi 
ans,  lady  readers,  &c.,  as  well  as  of  every  titled 
office  in  the  order  ;  so  that  children  are  known  in 
public  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  the  title  of 
the  post  of  honor  to  which  their  fathers  had  been 
elevated.  So  far  are  they  from  accounting  such 
titles  as  derogatory,  that  they  are  esteemed  as  a 
badge  of  honor,  and  the  more  so  as  the  rank  of 
the  individual  is  greater.  In  the  same  way  as  the 
rank  of  an  individual  is  designated  by  his  title,  the 
merit  of  the  children  is  graduated  by  that  of  their 
parents  ;  and  the  former,  regardless  of  illegitimacy 
or  sacrilege,  esteem  themselves  happy  in  making 
a  boast  of  their  elevated  station  in  society,  nor 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  205 

does  it  occasion  them  any  sense  of  shame  to  be 
known  by  the  honorary  titles  which  had  been  con 
ferred  on  their  parents  in  the  monastery. 

The  preceding  gives  proof  enough  of  entire  dis 
regard  to  appearances  in  the  monks  ;  for,  if  we 
except  the  baptismal  records,  we  have  no  means  of 
distinguishing  their  offspring  from  those  of  the 
laity.  They  lead  a  married  life  with  the  women 
they  take,  and  no  one  dares  to  censure  them  ;  and 
having  become  lost  to  all  sense  of  decency,  they 
trample  on  the  sanctity  of  the  prohibition.  It  ap 
pears  as  if  this  insensibility  wrought  in  them  more 
powerfully  than  in  others  ;  for  they  live  without  the 
least  restraint,  and  go  far  beyond  the  most  infa 
mous  of  the  laity  in  the  practice  of  licentiousness. 
Under  pretext  of  celebrating  these  orgies  in  the 
house  of  one  of  the  monks,  it  is  reason  enough 
why  no  justice  of  the  peace  should  violate  the  sanc 
tity  of  their  domicile  ;  and  however  disguised  the 
managers  of  the  ball  may  be,  by  assuming  the  dress 
of  the  laity,  common  report  is  enough  to  identify 
them  with  certainty. 

It  may  be  thought  strange  that  the  superiors  of 
the  orders  should  use  concealment,  and  not  apply 
a  remedy  in  this  matter ;  for,  if  they  were  actu 
ated  by  no  other  motive  than  the  reputation  of  the 
Order,  they  would  do  it  for  this  sole  object ;  but 
the  reply  to  this  is  by  no  means  difficult.  They 
do,  indeed,  assign  several  reasons  which  they 
18 


206  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

suppose  to  be  weighty,  such  as,  that  the  custom  has 
become  inveterate,  and  that  it  has  ceased  to  give 
offence,  because  it  is  so  generally  admitted  in  all 
those  countries.  But  the  truth  is,  they  want  au 
thority  to  restrain  these  excesses,  because  they  are 
as  much  implicated  in  them  as  are  the  inferior 
clergy  ;  and,  as  the  fatal  example  originates  with 
them,  there  is  no  room,  under  such  circumstances, 
for  salutary  admonition,  nor  is  it  possible  for  the 
guilty  person  to  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
his  error,  and  to  be  made  to  reform  his  life.  Of 
the  truth  of  this,  the  following  anecdote  will  fur 
nish  sufficient  evidence.  In  one  of  the  towns  sit 
uated  within  the  Province  of  Quito,  the  living  was 
held  by  a  monk  who  had  at  a  former  period  been 
elected  provincial  of  his  Order ;  but  he  was  so 
loose  in  his  morals,  and  so  perverse  in  his  whole 
conduct,  that  he  kept  the  village  in  a  state  of  tur 
moil  by  his  unbridled  licentiousness,  until  at  length 
the  complaints  of  the  inhabitants  came  to  the  ears 
of  the  President  and  Bishop  of  Quito.  The  latter, 
no  longer  able  to  disregard  such  repeated  solicita 
tions,  earnestly  entreated  the  acting  provincial  to 
restrain  the  excesses  of  the  monk,  who  was  ac 
cordingly  summoned  to  answer  to  the  charges 
alleged  against  him.  At  first,  however,  the  pro 
vincial  gave  him  a  friendly  admonition,  and  coun 
selled  him  not  to  be  unmindful  of  his  advanced 
age,  and  of  the  elevated  station  which  he  had 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  207 

once  held  in  the  convent.  He  then  urged  upon 
his  attention  every  motive  that  could  possibly  influ 
ence  him  to  abandon  his  reckless  life,  and  thereby 
cut  off  any  further  occasion  of  complaint  from  the 
president  and  bishop.  The  monk  received  the 
admonition  with  great  calmness,  and  as  soon  as  the 
provincial  had  concluded,  he  commenced  speak 
ing,  and,  availing  himself  of  the  freedom  of  mu 
tual  friendship  and  confidence,  not  to  mention 
other  circumstances,  which  set  aside  even  the 
forms  of  respect  and  subordination,  he  said  to  him, 
with  an  air  of  indifference,  that  if  he  needed  the  liv 
ing  for  any  thing,  it  was  only  to  maintain  his  concu 
bines,  and  to  carry  on  his  amours ;  for,  as  it  respected 
himself,  so  long  as  he  had  a  frock  and  hood,  and  his 
daily  allowance  of  bread,  it  was  quite  sufficient  for 
his  maintenance  ;  that  if  he  (the  provincial)  intended 
to  infringe  his  liberty  in  any  respect,  he  might  take 
the  living  for  himself,  for  he  had  no  need  of  it  what 
ever.  The  result  was,  that  the  monk  returned  to 
the  village,  and  continued  to  live,  as  before,  in  the 
same  vicious  practices. 

But  what  admonition  shall  a  superior  give  to  an 
inferior  concerning  a  crime  in  which  both  are 
equally  implicated,  and  who,  when  occasion  offers, 
go  in  company  to  the  dwellings  of  their  concubines 
without  the  least  reserve  ?  for  they  meet  in  the  house 
of  the  provincial,  just  as  they  do  in  that  of  a  pri 
vate  monk,  to  celebrate  their  nightly  orgies.  Hence 


208  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

it  is  that  such  a  mode  of  life  as  the  priesthood 
lead  docs  not  strike  the  laity  with  surprise  ;  but 
what  does  give  occasion  for  reproach  is  the  wran 
gling  that  takes  place  between  them  and  their  con 
cubines,  between  the  children  belonging  to  one 
and  those  which  belong  to  another,  and  among  the 
women  themselves,  who  lead  this  abandoned  life, 
especially  when  it  happens  that  a  priest  is  dissatis 
fied  with  one,  and  gives  occasion  of  jealousy  to 
another.  On  this  account,  there  exist  unceasing 
brawls  and  riots,  which  are  more  violent  in  small 
towns,  especially  if  the  inhabitants  come  to  take 
part  in  them.  They  are  also  wont  to  spring  from 
the  supremacy  which  the  concubines  and  children 
of  priests  wish  to  maintain  over  those  of  the  laity, 
trampling  upon  them  and  degrading  them  to  ser 
vile  occupations,  as  if  they  were  fit  only  for  me 
nial  offices.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  real  occa 
sion  of  offence,  which  is  not  in  the  fact  that  a 
priest  is  burdened  with  a  numerous  offspring,  nor 
that  he  lives  openly  with  a  woman  in  a  state  of 
matrimony,  but  in  the  incessant  quarrels  and  tu 
mults  which  have  their  origin  in  a  course  of  con 
duct  in  every  view  unseemly  and  reproachful. 

It  is  a  circumstance  very  worthy  of  remark  in 
the  fandangoes  to  which  we  have  before  al 
luded,  that  it  is  by  such  deeds  of  revelry  that 
the  assuming  of  monastic  vows  is  commemorated  ; 
it  is  in  such  orgies,  in  which  there  is  no  abominable 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  209 

crime  which  is  not  committed,  and  no  indecency 
which  is  not  practised,  that  the  solemn  occasion  of 
chanting  the  first  mass  is  celebrated,  which  seems 
like  presenting  to  the  young  friars  a  model  on 
which  to  form  their  subsequent  conduct ;  and  they 
appear  to  make  use  of  the  lessons  of  depravity 
with  so  much  fidelity,  that  they  never  deviate  in 
the  slightest  degree  from  their  observance. 

Although  this  licentious  life  comprises  both 
priests  and  friars,  the  former  are  more  continent 
and  less  scandalous  before  the  public,  and  in  both 
orders  there  are  wont  to  be  individuals  who  live 
in  a  more  exemplary  manner.  But  we  find,  on 
further  inquiry,  that  these  are  aged  priests,  who 
have  been  induced  by  advancing  years  to  change 
their  habits,  and  to  lead  a  more  virtuous  life  ;  and  it 
usually  happens  in  regard  to  both,  that,  if  any  one 
retires  from  the  world  to  live  virtuously,  it  is  not 
until  he  is  burdened  with  children  and  old  age,  and 
is  naturally  on  the  borders  of  the  grave. 

All  the  seclusion  of  these  priests,  who  are  ac 
counted  models  of  virtue,  as  well  as  all  their  pen 
ances  of  mortification  and  fasting,  consist  in  lead 
ing  a  life  of  continence,  by  withdrawing  from  the 
society  of  their  concubines.  This  might  appear 
at  first  view  an  inconsiderable  triumph ;  but  it 
comes  to  be  very  important  when  we  reflect  that 
there  are  many  individuals  in  whom  these  circum 
stances  concur,  and  who  continue  to  live  in  a  state 
18* 


210  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

of  concubinage  until  the  very  moment  of  their 
death.  Numerous  examples  of  this  kind  might 
be  quoted,  but  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  one 
only,  which  will  be  sufficient  to  corroborate  what 
we  have  stated. 

On  the  pampa  where  our  first  observations  were 
taken  relative  to  the  measurement  of  the  earth, 
there  were  various  plantations  belonging  to  friars, 
and  one  of  them  was  superintended  by  a  monk  of 
such  distinguished  talents  that  he  had  been  repeat 
edly  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  provincial.  This 
estate  was  so  near  to  that  on  which  we  were  re 
siding,  that  we  frequently  preferred  going  there  to 
hear  mass  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  By  this  fa 
cility  of  communication,  we  had  sufficient  oppor 
tunity  of  knowing  what  was  occurring  on  that  es 
tate,  as  well  as  on  the  neighboring  ones ;  but  even 
without  this  circumstance  we  could  not  be  ignorant 
of  it ;  for  the  occurrences  were  so  public,  that,  at  the 
very  time  the  tenants  made  known  to  us  the  names 
and  divisions  of  the  estate,  they  made  us  ac 
quainted  with  every  thing  relative  to  the  owner  of 
it,  without  omitting  the  circumstances  of  his  pro 
fession  and  mode  of  life.  This  monk  was  already 
more  than  eighty  years  old,  but  was  still  living,  as 
a  married  person,  with  a  young  and  good-looking 
concubine,  who  was  frequently  mistaken  for  some 
one  of  the  daughters  of  his  own  family,  for  this 
was  the  fourth  woman  with  whom  he  had  contracted 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  211 

alliance ;  and  as  children  had  descended  of  all 
these,  there  was  literally  a  swarm  of  them,  be 
tween  great  and  small.  This  whole  family  kneeled 
together  in  the  chapel  to  hear  mass,  the  concu 
bine  herself  presiding,  and  occupying  for  this  pur 
pose  a  conspicuous  place.  The  father  said  mass, 
and  one  of  his  sons  did  the  office  of  assistant. 
But  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  was,  that, 
although  this  priest  had  received  the  extreme  unc 
tion  three  times,  being  at  death's  door,  he  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  make  this  young  woman  withdraw 
from  his  bedside ;  and  at  length,  after  having  had 
the  rite  administered  for  the  fourth  time,  he  died,  as 
the  phrase  is,  in  her  arms.  It  will  not,  therefore, 
be  thought  strange,  if  attention  has  been  given  to 
what  we  remarked  above,  that  those  who  become 
ill  in  the  convents  should  retire  to  a  private  house, 
and  continue  there,  attended  by  their  concubines, 
until  they  recover  or  die. 

The  regular  clergy,  as  well  as  all  those  who  are 
forbidden  by  their  vows  to  marry,  not  only  live  in 
the  married  state,  but  secure  to  themselves  advan 
tages  over  those  who  are  lawfully  married,  for  they 
are  at  liberty  to  change  their  women,  either  when 
they  cease  to  be  congenial  to  them,  or  when  age 
has  rendered  them  less  attractive ;  and  it  is  their 
practice  so  to  do  whenever  it  suits  their  caprice,  or 
whenever  they  have  an  opportunity  to  mend  their 
fortune.  To  those  whom  they  abandon,  a  weekly 


212       SECRET  EXPEDITION  TO  PERU. 

allowance  is  granted  for  their  support,  and  this  is 
continued  for  life,  if  the  individual  concerned  is 
one  who  possesses  property,  or  holds  a  high  rank 
in  the  church  or  in  the  Order  to  which  he  belongs. 
From  examples  like  these,  some  conclusion  may 
be  formed  of  the  state  of  religion  in  that  country 
—  the  sacrilege  committed  in  the  face  of  day,  the 
irreverence  attending  the  celebration  of  religious 
rites,  and  the  want  of  security  for  the  propagation, 
or  even  the  existence,  of  the  true  faith.  Let  this 
question  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  each  individ 
ual,  as  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  make  it  a  sub 
ject  of  discussion,  and  augment  the  sense  of  grief 
and  disappointment  which  naturally  originates 
from  it. 

So  far,  however,  is  this  mode  of  life  from  being 
disreputable,  or  prejudicial  to  the  good  name  and 
decorum  either  of  man  or  woman,  that  the  promo 
tion  of  a  married  priest  is  an  occasion  of  mirth 
and  festivity  to  the  woman  with  whom  he  has  con 
tracted  alliance  ;  so  that  when  a  monk  has  been 
promoted  to  an  honorable  station  in  his  Order,  his 
concubine  receives  the  customary  congratulations, 
as  one  who  shares  in  the  honor  of  the  new  ap 
pointment.  What  takes  place  in  regard  to  one  is 
applicable  also  to  the  other,  for  by  it  they  secure 
a  greater  revenue,  which  is  the  object  desired. 

The  monks  possess  advantages  over  all  others 
in  regard  to  the  rank  of  the  women  who  belong  to 


SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU.  213 

them,  which  arises  from  the  fact  that,  while  they 
are  in  a  situation  more  favorable  to  the  acqui 
sition  of  wealth,  they  have  less  to  spend  for  their 
personal  maintenance  ;  hence  it  is  all  applied  to 
the  benefit  of  their  women,  which  is  not  the  case 
either  with  the  laity  or  with  other  ecclesiastics  ; 
for,  although  both  the  former  and  the  latter  main 
tain  them,  they  do  not  lavish  upon  them  their 
whole  estate,  as  is  the  case  with  the  monks  ;  for 
these,  as  they  say  themselves,  carry  their  whole 
wardrobe  on  their  backs,  and  their  only  pecuniary 
obligations  are  such  as  they  impose  upon  them- 
selves ;  so  that  whatever  they  earn,  either  within 
or  without  the  convent,  reverts  to  these  women, 
and  is  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  their  fam 
ilies. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  men,  not  having  scruples  of 
conscience,  inclining  them  to  forsake  such  a  course, 
nor  the  women  sufficient  modesty  or  love  of  virtue 
to  do  the  same,  it  will  not  seem  repugnant  to  rea 
son  that  the  practice  should  have  become  so  gen 
eral  as  to  comprehend  all  classes,  without  ex 
ception  ;  yet  we  shall  not  venture  to  affirm  so 
much  as  this,  lest  we  should  brand  with  such  a 
foul  reproach  those  who  may  never  have  incurred 
it ;  but  we  must  declare,  that,  in  regard  to  several 
individuals,  whom  we  knew  and  esteemed  as  pos 
sessing  moral  worth,  and  who,  to  appearance,  had 
always  lived  circumspectly,  time  disclosed  to  us 


214  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

quite  the  contrary,  and  under  circumstances  that 
gave  us  occasion  to  doubt  even  of  those  who  had 
exhibited  externally  satisfactory  evidence  of  vir 
tuous  conduct. 

This  licentiousness,  both  of  the  laity  and  priest 
hood,  is  universal  in  Peru,  so  that  what  is  said  of 
Quito  and  Lima  may  be  affirmed  of  all  other  cities 
and  towns.  The  root  of  the  evil  is,  that,  those 
countries  having  been  conquered  and  settled  by 
persons  of  a  low  rank  in  society,  the  abuses  which 
they  introduced  at  the  commencement  continued 
to  prevail  and  multiply,  until  they  had  become 
universal.* 

We  shall  conclude  this  chapter  by  alluding 
again  to  the  tumults  occasioned  by  the  capitulary 
elections,  in  order  to  show  how  little  the  monas 
teries  contribute  to  the  object  for  which  they  were 
established. 

The  revenue  attached  to  preferments  in  the  re 
ligious  Orders  is  the  source  of  all  the  unreason 
able  and  extravagant  behavior  of  the  members : 

*  There  are  not  wanting  in  Quito  bright  examples  of  virtue 
among  the  laity,  which  shine  with  more  lustre  in  contrast  with 
the  surrounding  darkness  of  infidelity  and  superstition. 

An  aged  friend  of  mine  in  that  city  once  informed  me  that, 
having  applied  to  a  Canon  of  the  church  for  counsel  in  regard 
to  the  way  to  be  saved,  that  dignitary  labored  to  quiet  his 
apprehensions  by  assuring  him  that  we  had  not  evidence 
enough  of  a  future  state  to  give  ourselves  any  concern 
about  it.— TR. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  215 

hence  it  is  that  they  pay  little  or  no  attention  to 
the  continuance  and  increase  of  the  missions,  and 
neglect  their  appropriate  duty  of  preaching  for  the 
conversion  of  infidels.  They  appear  in  public  to 
promote  the  interests  of  their  own  party,  and  to 
kindle  more  and  more  the  flames  of  discord  among 
individuals,  when  duty  calls  them  to  interpose  their 
friendly  offices  to  allay  the  spirit  of  party  ;  hence 
the  perverse,  disorderly,  and  scandalous  life  which 
they  all  lead,  from  first  to  last,  making  it  evident 
that  those  who  constitute  the  religious  Orders  have 
no  claim  to  the  character  of  religious  persons. 

The  chapters  assemble  at  certain  intervals,  to 
make  choice  of  a  provincial,  or  superior  of  a  con 
vent,  who  has  under  his  control  all  the  minor  con 
vents  of  his  Order  which  are  comprised  within  the 
limits  of  a  province.  This  dignitary  fills  up  all 
vacancies  that  occur  in  office,  or  for  once  grants  this 
prerogative  to  his  predecessor,  in  case  the  latter  has 
espoused  his  cause  ;  so  that  the  individual  chosen 
makes  this  concession  to  the  one  who  chooses  him, 
and  either  one  or  the  other  nominates  priors  or  guar 
dians  for  all  the  convents  of  the  province,  remodels 
all  the  benefices,  promotes  the  curates,  or  nominates 
others  in  their  place  —  all  which  yields  him  an  im 
mense  revenue  ;  for  what  has  been  said  of  the 
system  of  bribery  practised  in  the  election  of  a 
corregidor  applies  to  all  the  honors  and  preroga 
tives  conferred  by  the  provincial,  the  amount 


216  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

which  each  individual  has  to  contribute  being  reg 
ulated  by  a  fixed  tariff  or  scale  of  prices  ;  whether 
it  be  under  the  denomination  of  a  pension,  or  alms 
giving,  or  benevolence,  or  any  other  term  that  may 
be  applied  to  it ;  for,  whatever  be  the  pretext,  it  is 
well  known  that  the  vacancy  is  not  filled  unless 
the  stipulated  sum  should  be  paid  previously,  or  an 
obligation  given  to  pay  it  in  full  as  soon  as  the 
office  begins  to  yield  an  income.  Although  the 
new  provincial  should  cede  to  his  predecessor  the 
prerogative  of  filling  up  these  vacancies,  the  va 
cancies  thus  filled  do  not  fail  to  yield  him  an  im 
mense  revenue  ;  for,  besides  what  the  interested 
parties  give  to  him  who  directly  bestows  the  emol 
ument,  they  also  remunerate  the  provincial  who 
concedes  the  right  to  bestow  it,  which  leaves  them 
both  with  an  enormous  income  ;  but  even  this  is  not 
to  be  named  in  comparison  with  what  they  after 
wards  collect,  during  their  parochial  visits,  and  in 
the  interim  of  the  meeting  of  the  chapters,  which 
is  the  source  whence  they  derive  their  chief 

emolument 

The  only  recompense  bestowed  by  the  provin 
cials  on  those  who  have  espoused  their  party  con 
sists  in  promoting  them  to  office,  on  payment  of 
the  stipulated  alms,  which  does  not  diminish  aught 
from  the  merit  of  the  living  conferred,  for  it  always 
enables  an  individual  to  get  a  clear  income  of 
twelve  thousand  dollars  or  more,  during  his  term 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  217 

of  office,  even  if  he  have  advanced  a  gratuity  of 
three  or  four  thousand  dollars,  or  have  discharged 
his  debt  to  the  provincial  from  the  very  proceeds 
of  the  benefice  bestowed. 

But  what  in  this  respect  forces  itself  upon  the 
attention  is,  that  a  religious  Order,  like  that  of  St. 
Francis,  should  handle  money  bags  of  a  thousand 
dollars  each  as  they  were  maravedies  or  beads  of 
the  rosary  ;  that  it  should  set  up  and  manage  its 
fair  of  guardianships  and  livings,  as  other  con 
vents  do  ;  that  the  provincials,  in  a  three  years' 
term,  should  accumulate  a  greater  sum  than  is  ac 
cumulated  by  any  one  presiding  over  other  orders, 
the  number  of  livings  in  their  gift  exceeding  that 
of  the  rest ;  that,  in  the  same  proportion,  guardi 
ans  and  curates  increase  in  riches,  purchase  es 
tates,  and  keep  up  private  establishments ;  and,  in 
a  word,  that  there  should  be  provincials,  and  even 
friars,  of  elevated  rank,  rich  and  ostentatious,  and 
the  fame  of  whose  pomp  and  pride  echoes  through 
the  towns  and  cities  where  they  reside. 

In  addition  to  the  wealth  accumulated  by  the 
provincials  during  their  term  of  office,  as  soon  as 
this  term  expires  they  are  entitled  to  one  of  the 
best  (that  is,  of  the  richest)  livings  or  guardian 
ships  in  the  gift  of  the  Order,  and  they  are  at  lib 
erty  to  select  for  their  own  use  the  most  valuable 
estate  within  the  province,  and,  by  paying  the  rent 
prescribed  by  ancient  usage,  to  hold  it  as  their  own 
19 


218  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

during  their  lifetime.  To  these  emoluments  oth 
ers  are  added,  which  yield  such  a  revenue  as  to 
provide  them  with  every  thing  that  could  be  de 
sired. 

As  it  is  undeniable  that  all  the  Orders  in  the  In 
dies  possess  immense  wealth,  and  that  they  have 
no  occasion  to  employ  it  to  advantage,  it  is  evi 
dent  that  they  make  an  improper  use  of  it,  by 
rendering  it  subservient  to  their  corrupt  propensi 
ties.  Hence  it  is  that  the  members  of  the  religious 
Orders  take  the  lead  of  every  other  class  of  men 
in  the  practice  of  vice  ;  for,  if  reference  be  had 
to  concubinage,  none  are  guilty  of  it  to  such  a  de 
gree  as  they  are,  for  there  are  none  who  maintain 
a  greater  number  of  women  ;  if  to  the  use  of  ob 
scene  language,  it  makes  one  shudder  to  listen  to 
them,  when  they  let  loose  their  tongues,  and 
make  them  the  instruments  of  the  most  filthy  and 
opprobrious  language  that  can  be  imagined.  Be 
sides  this,  they  play  at  games  of  hazard  more 
than  any  class  of  persons  ;  they  drink  to  greater 
excess  than  the  laity,  and  there  is  no  vice  with 
which  they  have  not  made  themselves  familiar  ; 
all  which  has  its  source  in  superfluous  wealth ; 
for,  having  no  objects  on  which  to  lavish  it,  and  no 
occupation  to  fill  up  their  intervals  of  leisure,  they 
make  them  both  subservient  to  their  detestable 
vices,  and  continue  to  live  in  them  even  to  their 
last  hour. 


SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU.  219 

It  being  so  manifest  that  the  profligacy  of  the 
monks  in  Peru  is  owing  to  the  riches  they  hoard 
up,  and  that  these  are  derived  from  the  livings, 
the  evil  might  be  remedied  by  nominating  the  sec 
ular  clergy  to  the  benefices ;  for  the  priests,  cruel  as 
they  are  to  the  Indians,  are  not  so  tyrannical  as 
the  monks :  the  reason  is,  that  the  former  receive 
their  appointments  for  life,  and  are  not  compelled, 
like  the  latter,  to  contribute  the  customary  fee  or 
bribe  at  the  meeting  of  every  chapter,  nor  have 
they  the  same  occasion  to  straiten  to  the  utmost 
their  parishioners,  in  order  to  render  the  curacy  as 
lucrative  as  possible. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  such  a  measure  were 
adopted,  and  friars  should  be  excluded  from  the 
benefices,  the  scandal  of  profligacy  would  not  be 
avoided  ;  for  the  secular  and  regular  clergy  are 
equally  depraved  in  their  morals.  But,  exter 
nally,  the  difference  is  in  favor  of  the  priests,  for 
these  are  more  wary,  as  we  have  already  observed, 
and  endeavor  to  hide  their  weaknesses ;  there  is 
more  of  decorum  in  their  manners  ;  their  language 
is  not  so  revolting,  nor  their  lives  so  scandalous  ; 
so  that  if  we  would  describe  the  difference  between 
the  profligacy  of  the  monks  and  the  frailty  of  the 
priests,  we  should  say  that  the  latter  are  not  more 
abandoned  and  loose  than  are  the  laity  in  general ; 
and  if  there  is  any  difference  between  the  two 
classes,  a  greater  regard  to  appearances  may  be 


220  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

predicated  of  the  priests ;  but  the  monks,  under 
all  circumstances,  are  more  profligate  than  the 
laity.  Thus,  although  the  reform  of  such  mis 
chievous  abuses  could  not  be  wholly  effected,  it 
might  be  secured  in  part,  and  the  hope  entertained 
that,  through  the  influence  of  worthy  ecclesiastics, 
who  should  be  sent  from  Spain,  the  vices  which 
now  prevail  might  be  rooted  out,  or  held  in  some 
degree  of  restraint,  and  a  new  order  of  adminis 
tration  be  set  on  foot.  Although  this  object  should 
not  be  secured,  neither  as  a  whole  nor  in  part, 
other  advantages  would  result  from  it,  which  would 
be  of  great  importance  to  the  king  and  his  sub 
jects,  and  which  are  so  indispensable  at  the  pres 
ent  moment,  that,  otherwise,  we  cannot  rely  on  the 
permanent  possession  of  those  kingdoms  ;  at  least, 
no  reasonable  hope  can  be  entertained  that  the  set 
tlements  will  ever  be  extended  over  that  vast  ter 
ritory,  which  hitherto  has  recognized  no  sovereign 
but  the  barbarous  Indian,  and  no  proprietor  but  the 
beast  of  the  forests. 


NOTES. 


AMONG  other  instances  of  maladministration  and  bribery, 
communicated,  by  the  author  of  the  Secret  Expedition,  to 
the  Spanish  ministers,  the  following  are  selected  as  having 
occurred  during  their  residence  in  the  colonies  :  — 

During  the  administration  of  a  viceroy  whose  avarice  has 
left  a  blot  upon  his  memory,  a  judicial  inquiry  came  before 
the  Audience,  and  the  interested  individual,  being  fully  aware 
that  he  had  no  color  of  justice  to  enable  him  to  get  a  decis 
ion  in  his  favor,  used  every  endeavor  to  conciliate  the  good 
will  of  the  viceroy.  The  individual  obtained  all  that  he  de 
sired,  and  on  the  day  that  a  vote  was  to  be  taken,  at  their 
meeting,  the  viceroy  expressed  himself  in  such  terms  as  to 
raake  it  evident  that  he  was  deeply  compromised  in  the  re 
sult  of  the  question,  and  this  indication  sufficed  to  incline 
all  the  oydors  to  adopt  his  opinion  except  one,  whose  con 
science  was  more  in  accordance  with  justice.  The  meeting 
closed,  and  the  viceroy,  having  returned  to  his  palace,  was 
followed  very  soon  after  by  the  judge  who  had  expressed  his 
dissent  from  the  decision  of  the  Audience,  and,  addressing 
himself  to  the  viceroy,  made  an  apology,  and  begged  he 
•would  pardon  him,  as  his  conscience  would  not  permit  him 
to  do  otherwise,  especially  in  a  case  that  was  too  plain  to  be 
misunderstood.  The  viceroy  allowed  him  to  say  what  he 
pleased,  and  replied  by  assuring  him  that  he  should  continue 
to  be  his  friend,  notwithstanding  his  having  acted  in  oppo 
sition  to  his  wishes.  But  after  the  conversation  had  termi 
nated,  the  viceroy  asked  him,  in  great  confidence,  if  any 
attempt  had  ever  been  made  to  gain  his  vote  by  means  of 

19* 


222  SECRET    EXPEDITION    TO    PERU. 

bribery,  and  if  he  had  rejected  the  bribe,  in  order  not  to 
forego  the  claims  of  duty  or  of  justice.  The  minister  as 
sured  him  that  it  had  been  the  case,  and  went  on  to  mention 
some  occasions  on  which  it  had  occurred.  The  viceroy  com 
mended  him  highly  for  his  integrity  and  disinterestedness, 
and,  going  up  to  a  table  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  he  raised  a  cloth,  and,  exposing  to  view  a  large  vessel 
of  gold,  loaded  with  boxes  of  gold  dust  and  doubloons,  told 
him  that  he  was  not  surprised  at  his  scrupulous  regard  to  in 
tegrity,  for  perhaps  all  the  temptations  with  which  he  had 
been  assailed  might  have  been  nothing  more  than  a  gold 
box,  a  few  candlesticks,  and  other  pieces  of  silver,  which 
were  contemptible  for  their  small  value ;  but  had  he  been 
tempted  with  such  a  present  as  that  before  him,  he  would 
have  been  capable  not  only  of  sacrificing  the  principles  of 
justice,  but  even  of  committing  a  thousand  acts  of  sacrilege, 
if  so  many  were  required  of  him. 

When  we  made  the  passage  over  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
that  Audience  was  found  in  so  corrupt  a  state,  and  its  decisions 
had  become  so  discreditable,  that,  among  the  persons  who  con 
stituted  that  tribunal,  there  was  one  whose  recklessness  was 
more  notorious  than  that  of  his  colleagues,  whose  office  it  was 
to  settle  lawsuits,  and  make  a  bargain  with  the  interested  par 
ties  about  the  amount  of  the  reward  to  be  contributed  by  them. 
This  was  practised  with  so  little  caution,  that  justice  was 
put  up  to  sale,  and  bid  off  to  him  who  would  give  most ;  so 
that,  after  he  had  contracted  with  one  of  the  parties,  without 
coming  to  a  final  settlement,  he  sent  for  his  antagonist,  and 
feigning  a  desire  to  do  him  a  kindness,  he  made  known  to 
him  the  sum  which  the  other  had  offered,  pressing  him  to 
advance  somewhat  more,  in  order  to  induce  the  other  minis 
ters  to  take  his  part.  After  the  bargain  had  been  agreed 
upon,  and  the  terms  settled  definitively,  all  the  ministers 
eagerly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  litigant  who  had  been  the 
most  bountiful,  and  the  gain  was  divided  among  them. 

It  happened,  during  our  residence  there,  that  the  owner  of 
a  ship  obtained  the  signature  of  the  president  to  a  license 
authorizing  him  to  make  a  voyage  to  the  ports  of  New  Spain, 


NOTES.  223 

to  exchange  the  surplus  produce  of  the  isthmus  for  other 
necessary  provision — a  privilege  granted  to  the  presidents, 
which,  if  not  abused,  would  secure  important  advantages  to 
commerce.  The  ship  owner,  confiding  implicitly  in  the  favor 
of  the  president,  did  not  take  the  precaution  to  gain  over  the 
oydors,  and  as  the  time  approached  for  getting  in  readiness 
to  go  on  the  voyage,  the  ship  being  laden  and  ready  for  sea, 
the  Audience  had  her  detained,  and  the  reasons  of  the  deten 
tion  being  presented  with  decision,  the  license  was  with 
drawn,  and  the  ship  was  ordered  back  to  Peru,  after  consid 
erable  loss  to  the  owner,  and  the  license  was  soon  after 
granted  to  another,  it  having  been  refused  to  the  first  be 
cause  he  did  not  know  how  to  manage  his  suit. 

The  most  remarkable  case  that  occurred  in  that  Audience 
was  in  connection  with  an  individual  who  carried  on  a  law 
suit,  the  result  of  which  was  so  inauspicious  to  him,  owing 
to  the  decided  opinion  expressed  by  the  judges  in  favor  of  his 
opponent,  that  he  had  given  up  all  hope  of  obtaining  a  favor 
able  decision.  Finding  himself  on  the  point  of  losing  a  pos 
session,  which  had  been  usurped  by  his  opponent,  and  con 
vinced  that  he  could  not  get  a  favorable  hearing,  he  agreed 
to  resign  his  claim  in  favor  of  a  lady,  the  niece  of  one  of  the 
ministers  ;  and,  having  conversed  with  the  latter,  he  inti 
mated  to  him  that,  having  no  legal  heirs,  he  had  determined 
to  alienate  that  property  (which  was  an  estate)  in  favor  of 
his  niece,  for  his  only  object  was  that  his  opponent  should 
not  continue  in  possession  of  an  estate  which  had  been  un 
justly  acquired.  The  minister  from  that  time  began  to  attend 
to  his  cause,  and  to  disabuse  the  minds  of  the  others  of  the 
false  impression  they  had  formed  of  him,  so  that  he  suc 
ceeded  in  gaining  them  over  to  his  side,  and  by  means  of 
further  examination,  to  put  him  in  possession  of  his  estate. 
Having  now  become  the  owner  of  the  property  by  the  final 
decision  of  the  court,  he  went  to  visit  the  minister  who  had 
acted  the  part  of  a  protector,  and  told  him  that  he  must  ex 
cuse  him  if  he  did  not  fulfil  his  promise,  for  he  was  so  im 
poverished  that  he  could  not  afford  to  be  courteous  with  what 
he  needed  for  his  own  maintenance,  and  which  was  his  in 


224  SECRET    EXPEDITION   TO    PERU. 

equity ;  that  the  offer  he  had  made  was  designed  only  to 
secure  his  object,  finding  that  there  was  no  other  way  to  re 
strain  him  from  committing  an  act  of  injustice ;  but,  as  the 
laws  of  gratitude  dictated,  he  wished  to  recompense  him  for 
the  service  as  soon  as  the  farm  would  produce  an  income,  but 
his  means  were  so  limited  as  not  to  admit  of  it  for  that  time. 
By  so  doing,  he  remained  in  possession  of  his  property,  to 
the  no  small  chagrin  of  the  minister,  who,  on  finding  his  ex 
pectations  disappointed,  spared  no  pains  to  avenge  himself 
of  the  joke. 

In  further  proof  of  the  recklessness  with  which  the  judges 
receive  bribes,  from  all  quarters,  without  caution  or  conceal 
ment,  we  will  relate  what  took  place  with  respect  to  the 
French  captains  of  the  two  ships,  the  Deliberanza  and  the 
.Liz,  which  took  a  cargo  of  manufactured  goods  to  the  South 
Sea.  The  case  was,  that  the  Spanish  merchant,  who  loaded 
these  ships,  entered  a  suit  against  the  captains.  The  lat 
ter  gained  the  cause,  and,  agreeably  to  established  usage 
throughout  the  country,  they  proceeded  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
ministers  of  the  Audience,  to  thank  them  for  the  efforts 
they  had  made  in  their  behalf;  and  as  one  of  them,  in  par 
ticular,  had  distinguished  himself  in  his  exertions  to  sustain 
them,  on  going  to  pay  him  their  compliments,  they  carried 
him  a  case  containing  a  hundred  doubloons,  some  boxes  of 
gold  dust,  and  a  variety  of  articles  of  smaller  value  ;  but  as 
all  this  was  not  adequate,  according  to  established  custom, 
to  the  importance  of  the  subject  in  hand,  they  went  with  the 
apprehension  that  the  amount  might  appear  too  inconsider 
able,  and  that  they  should  be  received  with  coldness.  They 
presented  themselves  before  him,  and  after  the  formalities 
usual  on  such  occasions,  put  the  bribe  into  his  hands.  The 
minister  received  it  with  evident  marks  of  satisfaction  and 
gratitude,  and  the  whole  was  immediately  exposed  to  view 
and  carefully  examined.  He  then  began  to  count  the  doub 
loons  very  deliberately,  and,  as  soon  as  he  had  finished, 
wrapped  them  up  again  in  the  package  in  which  they  came, 
and,  arranging  the  whole  in  the  same  form  in  which  it  had 
been  presented,  he  returned  it  to  the  captains,  remarking  to 


NOTES.  225 

them  that  he  had  examined  it  all,  and  counted  the  money,  in 
order  to  see  how  much  he  was  indebted  to  their  generosity  : 
that  he  acknowledged  it  as  received,  but  begged  them  to  ac 
cept  it  from  his  hand  as  a  new  courtesy  he  had  to  show 
them ;  that  he  was  much  gratified  to  have  such  an  opportu 
nity  to  be  of  service  to  them ;  and  what  he  chiefly  desired  of 
them  was,  that,  on  their  return  to  Europe,  they  would  make 
mention  publicly  (against  the  prevailing  opinion)  of  the  im 
partiality  and  integrity  with  which  he  had  managed  their 
business,  —  in  doing  them  justice,  because  justice  was  on 
their  side,  and  not  from  selfish  motives.  The  captains  re 
turned  very  well  pleased  to  have  had  so  successful  an  issue 
in  the  affair,  but  forming  a  very  different  opinion  of  the  min 
ister  from  what  he  supposed  they  would  from  his  gallantry, 
for  they  knew  he  had  affected  it  in  order  not  to  lose  his  credit 
among  foreigners,  who  were  inclined,  in  distant  countries,  to 
expose  the  maladministration  of  public  functionaries ;  and 
that  he  had  given  them  a  favorable  reception  at  the  tribunal 
merely  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  presents  they  had  made 
him  beforehand,  in  having  sent  him  several  valuable  articles 
of  the  merchandise  they  had  imported.  The  rest  of  the 
oydors  received  the  portion  of  the  recompense  which  fell  to 
them,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  had  expressed  a  con 
trary  opinion,  and  the  Frenchmen  were  amazed  to  see  the 
freedom  and  recklessness  with  which  all  parties  admitted 
bribes,  tampering  with  the  votes  of  the  judges,  and  making  a 
public  fair  of  the  decisions  of  the  tribunals. 


OF  THE 

;w!VERSITY 

OF 
J>L  K;r.N\ 


14  DAY  USE 

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